COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the U.S. and vaccines are still being administered to the public. To discuss, we FEATURE Phronie Jackson. Jackson is a social change agent, mentor, and Founder of Ward 5 health coalition in Washington, DC. Dr. Jackson received her Doctorate in Public Health degree from Walden University in November 2016 and in 2017 was selected as a fellow in their inaugural Social Change Research Fellows Program. She is an assistant professor at the University of the District of Columbia, where she teaches undergraduate students in Health Education/Public Health, Environmental Health and Global Health. Media includes: NBC, WHUR FM Radio.

Anti-Asian hate has been on the rise, especially in the last year during the pandemic. To discuss, we FEATURE Helen Zia. Zia is a writer, community activist, and Fulbright Scholar. She spent 12 years researching and writing Last Boat out of Shanghai, visiting China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan on numerous occasions. A longtime journalist, she is also the author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People. She coauthored, with Wen Ho Lee, My Country Versus Me, which reveals what can happen to Chinese Americans who are falsely accused of being a spies for China. Extensive media experience.

President Biden is planning to an unveil the first part of his Build Back Better plan, an infrastructure plan that is intended to tackle climate change by prioritizing clean energy. To discuss, we FEATURE Rossana G. D'Antonio. D'Antonio is a Deputy Director for Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, the largest department of public works in the nation. She is credentialed as an Envision Sustainability Professional with the Institute of Sustainable Infrastructure, a nationally recognized organization for civil infrastructure. D'Antonio has successfully established herself as an expert in a STEM-related profession, navigating the political environment of county government, providing public works infrastructure services with dwindling resources, and addressing communities with diverse interests. Media includes: The Beat Radio Show, Pasadena Now 92.3 FM.

Twenty-eight states are considering anti-trans legislation and three states—Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee— have passed anti-trans bills. The legislation targets transgender girls and women and prohibits them from participating in sports without proving their assigned sex at birth and/or restricts young trans peoples' access to gender-affirming healthcare. To discuss, we FEATURE Heidi Peck Breaux. Peck Breaux possesses an expertise in counseling individuals of marginalized identities, training staff that serve diverse populations, and teaching anti-oppressive practice in higher education. As the Associate Director of Adult Services at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center in Manhattan, she oversaw grant-funded programs, lead LGBTQIA+ cultural competency trainings, and provided testimony to the NYC Council Commission on Human Rights. Extensive media experience.

The Supreme Court will be deciding on whether Kentucky's Attorney General has the ability to uphold Kentucky's restrictive abortion laws in its fall term. To discuss, we FEATURE Jennifer Dalven. In her role as Director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project, Dalven oversees and directs the ACLU’s litigation, state advocacy, and communications work on issues affecting access to reproductive health services. That work runs the gamut from legal challenges to laws that would ban abortions and shut down women’s health centers to initiatives to stop state legislatures from passing further restrictions on access to reproductive health care to communications strategies to move public opinion and galvanize supporters. Media includes: Huffington Post, CNN, NBC.

Last week Georgia passed a sweeping law that would restrict voting access in a variety of ways including by requiring stricter identification for mail-in ballots. The Brennan Center reports that 43 states have bills with provisions that restrict voting access. To discuss, we FEATURE Khalilah L. Brown-Dean. Brown-Dean is Associate Professor of Political Science at Quinnipiac University and former Faculty Co-Coordinator of the Health Policy and Advocacy concentration at the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine. With a keen eye toward the practical implications of democratic conflict, her research interests center on voting rights, criminal justice, election administration, and public policy. She has published numerous academic and popular pieces including a co-authored report on the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that was presented during the 50th anniversary celebration of the historic Bloody Sunday March in Selma, Alabama. Media includes: The New York Times, The Hill, The Washington Post, Al Jazeera, NBC, NPR.

For the past six days the Suez Canal has been blocked by a cargo ship. While the ship has been set free, the blockage has caused significant economic damage as many maritime ruotes were obstructed during that time. To discuss, we FEATURE Kathryn Denise Rucker Krepp. Krepp is a homeland security, transportation, and sexual assault expert who began her career as an active duty Coast Guard officer in 1998. After September 11, 2001, Krepp was a member of the team that created the Transportation Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Krepp was a staffer on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee and then served as Chief Counsel at the U.S. Maritime Administration during the first Obama administration. Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC.

Nashville is experiencing unprecedented floods due to heavy rainfalls. Over the weekend, six people were killed due to the flooding. To discuss, we FEATURE Julie Pullen. Pullen is Director of Product at Jupiter Intelligence, a start-up delivering hyper-local predictions for a changing climate using cloud computing. She is an adjunct research scientist at Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and advises the Environmental & Climate Sciences Department of Brookhaven National Laboratory. Pullen's expertise spans climate, weather and hydroscience with a particular focus on high resolution coastal urban prediction for flooding, heatwaves and other perils. Media includes: Scientific American, Wired, CBS, NBC.

USC has agreed to pay a $852 million settlement to over 700 women who have accused the university's gynecologist of sexual abuse. To discuss, we FEATURE Marissa Hoechstetter. Hoechstetter writes and speaks about sexually abusive doctors, enabling institutions, and corrupt politicians. She has been fighting for change since her own reports of assault by an OB/GYN received totally inadequate responses from the medical system and law enforcement. Marissa spearheaded a successful campaign in the New York City Council to allow patients to remove the names of abusive doctors from birth certificates, and her advocacy has led four bills to be introduced in the New York state legislature with the goals of curbing doctor sex abuse and holding enablers accountable. Media includes: The New York Times, Buzzfeed News, Politico, USA Today, Bustle, CBS.