Today was the day that DACA was going to end, but court orders forced the administration to continue issuing renewals. Now that the immediate pressure has receded, what is in store for DACA recipients and undocumented youth who are not in the program? To discuss, we SPOTLIGHT Marisa Franco. Marisa is a Phoenix-based organizer, writer and strategist. She is the Director and co-founder of Mijente, a digital and grassroots organizing hub for Latina/o and Chicana/o people. she led the #Not1More Deportation campaign, recognized in 2014 by the National Organizing Institute as Campaign of the Year and co-authored How We Make Change is Changing, which describes Not1More’s campaign strategy and structure that activated hundreds of organizations across sectors and communities to demand a stop to deportations. In 2012, she organized the ‘No Papers No Fear’ bus tour throughout the South en route to the Democratic National Convention (often referred to as the ‘Undocubus’). Media includes: Politico, CNN, MSNBC, Univision, The Washington Post.
An aid convoy has made it's way to Eastern Ghouta in Syria, which has been under siege over the last weeks and where hundreds of civilians have been killed. To discuss, we FEATURE Pia Wanek. Pia has directed Humanitarian Assistance’s response for a variety of crises, including the West African Ebola epidemic, the 2014 war in Gaza, the ongoing Syrian conflict, and Puerto Rico after the hurricanes. A seasoned humanitarian assistance professional, Ms. Wanek has more than 15 years of experience in the donor community and the NGO world. She worked for USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance for six years, predominantly on East and Central Africa emergency response programs, and supported the civil-military portfolio at the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration and strategic planning and policy development at the Consular Affairs bureau at the State Department. Media includes: DevEx, The Cipher Brief, Vice News, Middle East Institute.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is currently being discussed following President Trump's announcement of new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. To discuss, we FEATURE Lori Wallach. Lori is Director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch division. Public Citizen, founded in 1971, is a nonprofit citizen research, lobbying and litigation group based in Washington, D.C. Launched by Wallach in 1995, Global Trade Watch is a leader in the global citizen movement for fair trade and investment policy. Wallach has testified on NAFTA, GATT-WTO, and other trade issues before over 30 U.S. congressional committees, numerous other countries’ legislatures, the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Media includes: CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newshour, The Wall Street Journal, NPR.
The 2018 midterm primary season has begun and many congressional seats are up for election. To discuss, we FEATURE Dr. Christina M. Greer. Dr. Greer is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Fordham University - Lincoln Center (Manhattan) campus. Her research and teaching focus on American politics, black ethnic politics, urban politics, quantitative methods, Congress, New York City and New York State politics, campaigns and elections, and public opinion. Prof. Greer's bookBlack Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream(Oxford University Press) investigates the increasingly ethnically diverse black populations in the US from Africa and the Caribbean. She finds that both ethnicity and a shared racial identity matter and also affect the policy choices and preferences for black groups. It was the recipient of the WEB du Bois Best Book Award in 2014 given by the National Conference of Black Political Scientists. Media includes: The New York Times, ABC Channel 7, NBC Nightly News, Fox 5.
A charity called Philando Feeds the Children, which founded was in the name of Philando Castile after he was killed by a police officer in 2016, has raised enough money to feed children 56 schools in St. Paul, Minessota. To discuss, we FEATURE Oleta Garrett Fitzgerald. Oleta is Director of the Children's Defense Fund's Southern Regional Office (CDF-SRO), and also serves as the Regional Administrator for the Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative for Economic & Social Justice (SRBWI). SRBWI operates in 77 counties across the Black Belts of Alabama, Southwest Georgia and Delta Mississippi. CDF-SRO also serves as the lead for the W.K. Kellogg funded Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids (SPARK) Initiative. In 1976, she was hired as southern director for the Children's Foundation, which educated citizens and members of Congress about the need for expanded access to federal food programs. Media includes: Jackson Advocate, The Clarion Ledger, Nightline.
Thursday is International Women's Day and, to commemorate, we FEATURE Emily Bove. Emily is the Executive Director of Women Thrive Alliance, a leading global women’s rights network that unites and mobilizes hundreds of grassroots women’s rights and gender equality organizations in over 50 countries. Over the past decade, Emily has worked in service of grassroots feminist leaders around the world, bridging their social justice agendas with key development processes. Having joined Women Thrive in 2014 as a program director, Emily transformed a group of a dozen local partners into a vibrant 300-plus global community of advocates committed to and mobilized around the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 5 on Gender Equality. Media includes: Medium, Huffington Post, Ms. Blog, Cameroonian Media.
The 2018 Winter Paralympics begin in PyeongChang, South Korea on Thursday. To discuss, we FEATURE Jill Pilgrim. Jill, Founder and President of The Center for the Protection of Athletes' Rights, Inc., a 501(c)(3) sports advocacy and education organization. She is also currently Acting Executive Director & General Counsel of the Track & Field Athletes Association (TFAA). Ms. Pilgrim is a former track and field athlete with longstanding involvement in Olympic and amateur sports, as an athlete, an attorney and business advisor. She led the legal department at USA Track & Field, Inc. (USATF), the Olympic governing federation, and at the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). Ms. Pilgrim designed and implemented professional golf’s first player drug testing program for the LPGA. Media includes: NBC, CNN, Court TV, BBC Radio, ESPN.
Liz Theran
