On Tuesday, Israeli troops entered Khan Younis, the southern Gaza's second-largest city. To discuss, we SPOTLIGHT Patricia DeGennaro. DeGennaro is a senior political scientist focused on strategic political analysis and communications. DeGennaro capitalizes on over 20 years of experience as an academic, military advisor and practitioner in international security policy. Much of her work focuses on geopolitical analysis, strategic communications, countering terrorism and violent extremism, and transitioning nations from war. She has spent considerable time in the Balkans, the Middle East and Afghanistan on information operations, security policy, civilian and military affairs, provincial governance, capacity building, and joint interagency, intergovernmental and multinational coordination. Extensive media experience.
As Congress discusses funding for Ukraine in the fight against Russia, Republican leaders are demanding that President Biden include immigration policy changes to the bill. To discuss, we FEATURE Amanda Baran. Baran is an attorney who engages in policy analysis and advocacy for immigrant and women's rights. She worked at the Department of Homeland Security for almost ten years where she held a number of significant positions including chief of public engagement at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and most recently, as their Chief of Policy and Strategy. In 2011, she served as Senior Advisor to the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders where she focused on immigration, civil rights, and women's rights and engaged with community leaders across the country. Media includes: The Hill, Los Angeles Times, VOA Noticias, Rewire.News.
Citibank is facing a sexual harassment lawsuit after Ardith Lindsey, a managing director at Citi, alleges that the bank created an environment where sexual harassment was tolerated. Lindsey has stated that her career at Citibank has been "traumatizing." To discuss, we FEATURE Audrey Roofeh. Roofeh is the founder and CEO of Mariana Strategies LLC, a Washington, DC-based workplace culture consulting firm focused on preventing workplace harassment. Roofer is an employment lawyer and certified change management practitioner, who frequently speaks and writes on issues of workplace equity and inclusion. As CEO of Mariana Strategies, Roofeh works with businesses in manufacturing, politics, fashion, sciences, and media, as well as national and international non-profits, think tanks and educational institutions to deliver workplace culture solutions to prevent harassment and build inclusion. Media includes: TruthOut, FairyGodBoss, The Startup.
Israel is investigating incidences of rape being used as a weapon of war on October 7. To discuss how to cover sexualized violence in conflict zones, we FEATURE Lauren Wolfe. Wolfe is an award-winning journalist who has written for publications from The Atlantic to The Guardian. She publishes a Substack called Chills, where she pulls back the curtain on her many years of international investigative reporting. She is also a contributing writer for Washington Monthly and an adjunct professor at NYU’s graduate school of journalism. She is the founding editor of WMC Climate. Previously, she was the director of WMC Women Under Siege and a columnist at Foreign Policy magazine. Before that, Wolfe was senior editor at the Committee to Protect Journalists, where she broke ground on the issue of journalists and sexualized violence. Extensive media experience.
Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on the Sackler trial, which would decide whether a bankruptcy settlement would release the Sackler family from potential legal claims. The Sackler family have often been accused of being contributors to the opioid crisis. To discuss, we FEATURE Cheryl Priest Ainsworth. Ainsworth is an experienced litigator and trial attorney. Her experience ranges from representing individuals to family-run companies, as well as multi-billion-dollar national corporations, and taking on big banks and rap stars. She was co-lead counsel for over 30 counties and cities in Arizona, Missouri, Kansas and Maryland who are sued the opioid manufacturers and distributors for the societal and financial ills that these local governments suffered at the hands of those defendants. As part of her work on these cases, she has successfully defeated defendants’ attempts to circumvent the clients’ choice of venue in their home state courts and send the cases to federal court. She also took the lead in representing the firm’s government clients as an ex officio member of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors for In re Insys Therapeutics, Inc. (Case No. 19-11292), the company’s bankruptcy arising out of the its alleged role in fueling the nationwide opioid epidemic. Media includes: Los Angeles Business Journal, ATTN, Tampa Bay Business Journal, DreX Radio on KGO 810.
According to research done by The Washington Post, two shootings in Texas and Washington state have become the 37th and 38th mass shootings in the U.S. this year. As a result, 2023 has become the year with the most recorded mass shootings ever. To discuss, we FEATURE Valda Crowder. Crowder is a medical expert on the front line of the gun violence and mental health crises, four pandemics, natural disasters and the fallout of health disparities. During a rash of mass shootings at US postal offices, her clinical and public policy skills saved lives. She is currently director of Emergency Medicine at UPMC Community Hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Media includes: The Baltimore Times, The Dallas Examiner, NPR.















