The Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine has been destroyed, causing flooding across the region and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate. To discuss, we SPOTLIGHT Sarah Dawn Petrin, the former Senior Director of Consulting at the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and a nonresident senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. Petrin has more than 25 years of experience in the humanitarian sector, managing philanthropic partnerships between nonprofits and major donors. She is the founder and former executive director of Protect the People, a consulting group that advised government organizations on the protection of civilians in conflict zones and established private sector partnerships for disaster response. Petrin has managed emergency programs for refugees along the borders of Afghanistan-Pakistan, Kenya-Somalia, Thailand-Myanmar, Ukraine-Russia, and responded to disasters such as the global Ebola response, Southeast Asian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti earthquake. Media includes: BBC, CNN.
Saudi Arabia has announced that it will be cutting 1 million barrels of oil a day. To discuss, we FEATURE Jessica Jewell. Jewell is an Associate Professor in Energy Transitions at the Department of Space, Earth and Environment at Chalmers University and a Professor at the Centre for Climate and Energy Transformation at the University of Bergen. Her research focuses on the feasibility of climate action and influence of energy security on the energy transition. She is a recipient of a European Research Council's Starting Grant as well as the Principal Investigator of a project funded by the Norwegian Research Council and a leader of work packages in collaborative research projects supported by European and Swedish funding agencies. Media includes: Economist, The Conversation.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed legislation banning gender-affirming care for minors, joining 17 other states to do so. To discuss, we FEATURE Zahara Green. Green is the Founder and Executive Director of TRANScending Barriers, a trans-led group whose mission is to empower the transgender and gender non- conforming community in Georgia through community organizing with leadership building, advocacy, and direct services. Zahara spends most of her time working towards the liberation of her people. She was a formerly incarcerated trans women of color who spent 5 years incarcerated with most of her time in solitary confinement, an experience that has inspired her advocacy. As executive director of TRANScending Barriers, Zahara specializes in reducing the harms of the criminal punishment on transgender people. Media includes: Into, AJC, Buzzfeed, Rolling Stone.
Yesterday, Colorado moms, led by Here4TheKids, gathered at the state Capitol to call on Colorado Governor Jared Polis to sign an executive order to ban guns and implement a statewide buyback program. To discuss, we FEATURE Saira Rao, co-founder of Here4TheKids. Saira is also co-founder of Race2Dinner, an unconventional network of women and non-binary folx gathering together to discuss race with honesty and vulnerability, co-author of The New York Times Bestseller White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How to Do Better and Executive Producer of the documentary Deconstructing Karen. She is also the co-founder of HAVEN, a community by and for Black, Indigenous and brown womxn. Saira is a former congressional candidate, lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and law clerk on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She is a published novelist and graduate of the University of Virginia and New York University School of Law. Media includes: Fast Company, TODAY Books, Teacher Pop, Reel Girl, CBS.
On Monday, a group of Latin migrants were sent unannounced to Sacramento on a private jet. The migrants were holding papers from the Florida Division of Emergency Management. To discuss, we FEATURE Adriana Rivera Sanchez, the Director of Communications at the Florida Immigrant Coalition. Adriana is a native of Puerto Rico and has a BA in Communications from the University of Puerto Rico. She has worked in the private and non-profit sectors, bringing forward her knowledge of marketing and communications strategies. Since her debut into political work, she has been featured in the media as an expert on the Puerto Rican constituency and she was one of the Latinx comms professionals featured in "We Are Más" Top Democratic Latina/Latino Strategists and Communicators in the State of Florida 2020. She excels in digital marketing and has a passion for social justice, especially when it concerns disadvantaged communities, disparities, and inequities. Media includes: El Nuevo Día, Herald Tribune, South Florida Sun Sentinel, TVV Noticias.
Armie Hammer, who was accused of raping two women in Los Angeles, will not be charged with sexual assault. To discuss, we FEATURE Justine Andronici. Justine has devoted her career to advocating for women's rights, victims rights and social justice. She is a trainer, consultant, advocate, attorney, educator, and expert in the arenas of sexual assault, domestic violence, and women's rights and workplace discrimination. Andronici has extensive experience in women's rights and victims rights. Her civil practice areas have included sexual assault, child sexual abuse, domestic violence, and civil rights civil law, including Title IX, Title IV, Section 1983 cases. Andronici represented multiple survivors in the Jerry Sandusky/Penn State University sexual abuse cases. Her clients included Matt Sandusky, survivors identified as victim's 2, 3, 7 and 10 in the Sandusky criminal proceedings, and others. Media includes: The Philadelphia Inquirer, Bloomberg Law, Ms. Magazine, NPR.
The end of the school year is here. To discuss, we FEATURE Emma García. García is a Senior Researcher at the Learning Policy Institute and adjunct professor in Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy. She has extensive research and teaching experience in the fields of economics of education, education policy, and quantitative methods. Before joining LPI, García held positions at the Economic Policy Institute, the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education, the Campaign for Educational Equity, the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, and the Community College Research Center. García has published academic and policy studies on a range of issues, including production of education, impact evaluation, educational equity, teacher labor markets, human development, international comparative education, and cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis. Media includes: USA Today, The New York Times, NPR.
With summer beginning, many people are planning to travel over the next few months. To discuss, we FEATURE Tonya Fitzpatrick, a member of the Maryland Tourism Development Board. Tonya loves talking about the transformative power of travel and she has done so on several stages including TEDx, the Women’s Economic Forum in India, the North American Travel Journalist Association, and FestiGals conference in New Orleans. Tonya is a lawyer by training but an intrepid traveler and global citizen by heart and the latter inspired her to create World Footprints Media where she produces and co-hosts the multi award-winning World Footprints podcast with her husband, Ian. World Footprints is a Lowell Thomas award-winning show that stands on the foundation of social responsibility and inspiring life journeys. Media includes: Black Enterprise, USA News Report, CBS, NBC.
June is LGBTQ Pride Month, which is even more important to remember and celebrate this year as the Human Rights Campaign has declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans. To discuss, we FEATURE Ileana Jiménez. For over fifteen years, Ileana Jiménez has been a leader in the field of social justice education. A 2011 recipient of the Distinguished Fulbright Award in Teaching, her research in Mexico City focused on creating safe schools for LGBT youth. Passionate about creating inclusive schools, Ileana believes in transforming education for gender, racial, and economic justice. In 2005, she founded the New York Independent Schools LGBT Educators Group, providing educators professional development and networking opportunities. Her innovative curriculum on teaching women’s studies and activism at the high school level has received awards and recognition from the Feminist Press, NOW-NYC, RightRides, and the Stonewall Community Foundation.















