Independent Consultant

Following Patricia Arquette's commentary about wage inequality in her Academy Award acceptance speech, we FEATURE Lisa Maatz, vice president of government relations at the American Association of University Women. Lisa works to advance opportunities for women and girls and provides leadership to many coalitions on this matter, including National Coalition of Women and Girls in Education and the Paycheck Fairness Act Coalition. She was recently featured in the book "Secrets of Powerful Women," and has developed a reputation for her strategic approach to legislation and advocacy. She has appeared on MSNBC's "The Ed Show" and is frequently called to comment on politics and women's issues by the Associated Press, Politico, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and U.S. News & World Report.

Director

To comment on the recent Al-Shabaab threats to shopping malls in North America, we feature Carie Lemack, the director of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Homeland Security Project. Previously, Carie co-founded Global Survivors Network and has over ten years of experience in homeland security, counterterrorism policy, advocacy and public outreach. She coordinated and inspiried events globally and produced an Academy Award-nominated documentary film Killing in the Name. Her media experience include: CNN, BBC, Today Show, Oprah, and New York Times.

Vice President of U.S. Programs

As the nationwide campaign for low-paid Americans kicks off this this week in Nevada, we FEATURE Sarita Gupta, the executive director of Jobs With Justice. Sarita is a nationally recognized expert on the economic and political issues affecting working people across all industries, especially low-wage workers. Under Sarita's direction, Jobs With Justice is leading the fight for workers' rights and economy that benefits everyone by providing strategic campaigns to shape the public discourse and build power for working people. She has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News.

Co-Founder/Policy and Program Development Director

With funding set to expire on Friday for the Department of Homeland Security due to a Capitol Hill stalemate on immigration, we FEATURE Maria Echaveste. Maria is a co-founder and partner of Nueva Vista Group, a government relations firm specializing in public policy, advocacy, strategic advice, and outreach. Prior to founding Nueva Vista, she was the Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for President Clinton. In this role, she had oversight for the President's domestic policy initiatives, including education, civil right, immigration and bankruptcy reform. Currently, she serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Extensive media experience.