President Biden announced sanctions against Russia following what he described as “the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.” To discuss, we SPOTLIGHT Nora Bensahel. Bensahel is a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the School of International Service at American University. She was most recently senior fellow and co-director of the Responsible Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security, where she previously served as deputy director of studies. Bensahel is a widely published expert on U.S. defense policy, U.S. military operations and force structure, coalition and alliance operations, and leader development. Her recent publications include Hard Choices: Responsible Defense in an Age of Austerity, Battlefields and Boardrooms: Women’s Leadership in the Military and the Private Sector, The Seven Deadly Sins of Defense Spending, Building Better Generals, and Charting the Course: Directions for the New NATO Secretary General. Media includes: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, Voice of America, BBC, PBS, CNN, NPR.
Former President Donald Trump has launched a new right-wing social media platform called Truth Social. To discuss, we FEATURE Luuvie Ajayi. Ajayi is a New York Times bestselling author, sought-after speaker and podcast host who thrives at the intersection of comedy, technology and justice. Her debut book, I’m Judging You: The Do-Better Manual was an instant bestseller and firmly established Luvvie as a literary force. Her second book: Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual, was released in 2021. A 17-year blogging veteran, Luvvie writes on AwesomelyLuvvie.com, covering all things culture with a critical yet humorous lens. Her singular voice and trademark wit are what she uses to speak truth to power across media platforms. Media includes: Huffington Post, Black Enterprise, Ebony Magazine, The New York Times, Forbes.
A jury has found the three white Georgia men who murdered Ahmaud Arbery guilty of a federal hate crime. To discuss, we FEATURE Nadia Aziz. Aziz serves as Policy Counsel of the Stop Hate Project with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, where she works to ensure individuals and organizations targeted by hate have the resources they need to confront hate in their communities. She writes and speaks on issues relating to the representation of minorities in politics, hate crimes, and the securitization of communities of color. She is licensed to practice law in North Carolina. Media includes: The Hill, The Huffington Post, CNN.
Colombia's constitutional court has voted to decriminalize abortion in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. To discuss, we FEATURE Mariana Ardila. Ardila is a managing attorney at Women's Link Worldwide where she is a senior legal strategist and litigator in reproductive rights and international gender crimes. She is a law professor at Externado University of Colombia, and has published articles and a book on gender related issues; El Derecho Humano De Las Mujeres A La Anticoncepcion (The Human Right of Women to Contraception). At Women's Link, she co-leads the organization's work on reproductive rights and transitional justice in Latin America and Europe. In Colombia, Ardila and her legal team have successfully litigated various cases before the Constitutional Court, including one which made access to healthcare for sexual violence victims mandatory, and the landmark case that granted Helena, a woman who was recruited by an armed group as a child, access to reparations for the forced abortion she was subjected to. Media includes: The New York Times, El Espectador, BBC.
Emmilee Risling, a Native American woman, has gone missing in California. This is one of five cases in the last 18 months of Indigenous women going missing from the region. To discuss, we FEATURE Sarah Deer. Deer is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma and a professor at the University of Kansas, where she has a dual appointment in the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Department and the School of Public Affairs and Administration. Her scholarship focuses on the intersection of Federal Indian law and feminism, with a focus on violence against Native women. Her 2015 book, The Beginning and End of Rape, has received several awards, including the best first book award from the Native American Indigenous Studies Association. Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, Democracy Now, MSNBC, NPR.
While Ottawa streets have been cleared of the trucker protests, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has won approval to enact the Emergencies Act in order to maintain control of the area. To discuss the impact of anti-vaccine protests on international trade, we FEATURE Lilac Nachum. Nachum is an expert on globalization and the strategic management of Multinational Corporations. In conjunction with her current position as a Professor of International Business at Baruch College, she is also the Director of the Centre for the study of Russian and Emerging Market Multinationals of St. Petersburg State University, Russia, and leads a consulting project for Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting on value creation and appropriation in global supply chains. Media includes: Forbes, India Economic Times, Business World India, Brooklyn Independent TV, CNBC, FOX Business, CNN.
Biden is expected to name his nominee for the Supreme Court soon. He has said that he would announce his pick by the end of February and that it would be a Black woman. To discuss, we FEATURE Emerald Christopher-Byrd. Christopher-Byrd is an Assistant Professor of Women & Gender Studies at the University of Delaware. Her research focuses on the socio-political position of Black women in the United States. Her current research examines patriarchal misogyny in the Black community and its impact on women and girls. Christopher-Byrd is an expert on Black women in politics and misogynoir. Extensive media experience.
US Soccer and the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) have reached a $24M agreement on their equal pay dispute. To discuss, we FEATURE Ellen M. Zavian. Zavian was the first female attorney/agent in the NFL. She has represented the US Women’s Soccer and, softball gold medalists and extreme athletes, collectively, and held the title of Commissioner for the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (NCAA). She served as coordinator for the NFLPA’s Native American project; is a nationally recognized journalist, and a court expert in licensing/sports agreements. Zavian teaches sports/event law at George Washington University’s business school while serving her clients in the sports industry and conducting arbitrations as a certified AAA arbitrator. Media includes: CNN, Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, ESPN.
The International Court of Justice has begun hearings into Myanmar's genocide against the Rohingya people. To discuss, we FEATURE Akila Radhakrishnan. Radhakrishnan is the President of the Global Justice Center. She directs GJC’s strategies and efforts to establish legal precedents protecting human rights and ensuring gender equality. Radhakrishnan also leads GJC’s Gender and Genocide project, including to ensure justice and accountability for the Yazidi genocide and is a key member of GJC’s Burma project team. In her role, she has authored numerous shadow reports, legal briefs and advocacy documents and provided legal expertise to domestic and international stakeholders and policymakers, including the International Criminal Court, the United Nations, the European Union and state governments. Media includes: The New York Times, Time, The Atlantic, Women Under Siege, Ms. Magazine, Rewire.
A new study published by the medical journal JAMA Network Open has found that "Stand Your Ground" laws are linked to an 11 percent rise in U.S. firearm homicides. To discuss, we FEATURE Shannon Watts. The day after the Sandy Hook tragedy, Watts started a Facebook group with the message that all Americans can and should do more to reduce gun violence. The online conversation turned into grassroots movement of American mothers fighting for public safety measures that respect the Second Amendment and protect people from gun violence. Moms Demand Action has established a chapter in every state of the country and is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country, with more than three million supporters. Media includes: Time, The Washington Post, MSNBC, CNN, NPR.
The American Heart Association has released a new study that shows a connection between women who have experienced sexual violence and a risk of developing high blood pressure. To discuss, we FEATURE Jennifer Freyd. Freyd is a widely published and nationally-renowned scholar known for her theories of betrayal trauma, institutional betrayal, institutional courage, and DARVO. She researches these topics in the context of institutional behavior, sexual violence, discrimination on the basis of gender, minority status, and sexual orientation, and also disclosures of abuse. Freyd is Director, Project on Institutional Courage, Founder, The Center for Institutional Courage, Professor of Psychology at the University of Oregon, and Visiting Scholar at Stanford Medical School. She is also a Member of the Advisory Committee, 2019-2023, for the Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Media includes: The New York Times, Mother Jones, The Mercury News, The Washington Post.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many people might be experiencing burnout and strains to their mental health. To discuss, we FEATURE Katie Rose Guest Pryal. Pryal is a lawyer and rhetorician—an expert in public discourse and how it influences policy—whose main focus is mental illness and neurodiversity and making the world more accessible to all people. She is the author of Life of the Mind Interrupted: Essays on Mental Health and Disability in Higher Education (2017); The Freelance Academic: Transform Your Creative Life and Career (2019); and Even If You’re Broken: Essays on Sexual Assault and #MeToo (2019). Media includes: The New York Times, Huffington Post, The New Republic, Salon.
February is Black History Month and to commemorate, we FEATURE Brandale Mills Cox. Mills Cox is the author of Black Women Filmmakers and Black Love on Screen, which offers a definition of Black Love and an analysis of how it is portrayed from the perspective of a Black female filmmaker. Her passion has also led her to her current role as founder and principal of Inclusive Market Research Group, a full-service research firm that specializes in inclusive and culturally sensitive market research, that help brands create communications strategies. As a Black American consumer insight expert, she provides cultural insight and direction for market strategy and planning using qualitative and quantitative research as a foundation. Mills Cox is also currently the Director of Communications at the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office where she handles media outreach and planning on behalf of the office’s initiatives. Extensive media experience.
WMC SheSource also has a list of experts for Black History Month.
Alicia White
Liz Theran
