Poet| Instructor| Co-Director

As we enter week two of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, we FEATURE Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, a Marshall Islander poet, spoken word artist, and teacher. Kathy, who is in Paris for the talks, uses her poetry to highlight the struggles of her people including social justice issues such as the threat of climate change for her islands, the American legacy of nuclear testing in her country, and racism against Micronesians in Hawaii. She received international acclaim after performing at the United Nations Climate Summit last September where she performed a poem to her daughter entitled, “Dear Matafele Peinam” which moved hundreds of world leaders to tears and has since launched her into global conversations on climate change. Media includes: CNN, Al-Jazeera, Huffington Post, The Gaurdian

Professor of Law

To discuss Attorney General Loretta Lynch today announcing a federal investigation into the Chicago Police Department, we FEATURE Valena E. Beety. Valena Elizabeth Beety is an Associate Professor of Law at West Virginia University College of Law. She is also Deputy Director of the WVU Law Clinical Law Program, chairing the West Virginia Innocence Project. Beety's scholarship and teaching interests include criminal procedure, causes of wrongful conviction, prisons and policing. Her experience as a federal prosecutor and litigating innocence cases in Mississippi and West Virginia shape her interest in criminal justice, from investigation through incarceration.

Media includes: Charleston Gazette, West Virginia Public Broadcasting, "The Law Works", WCHS 580 AM, The West Virginia Lawyer

Strategic Geopolitical Analyst and Political Military Consultant

Following President Obama's third Address to the Nation we FEATURE Patricia DeGennaro, an adjunct professor at New York University’s Department of Politics where she teaches courses on international security, civilian and military relations and US foreign policy. In addition to her work as a professor, DeGennaro is a Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute and a professional service provider and a subject matter expert on Afghanistan, the Middle East, the Arab Gulf States, Pakistan and Iran for the U.S. Army’s Training and Doctrine Command. DeGennaro capitalizes on over fifteen years of experience as an international security and geopolitical consultant. Media includes: CNN, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, Fox News, BBC

Former President and CEO

This week, as the Supreme Court will begin hearing the affirmative action case of Fisher v. UT: Austin, we FEATURE C. Nicole Mason, PhD., a political analyst, social commentator, and pop culture expert with over ten years of experience in public policy analysis, advocacy, and popular education campaigns. Currently, she is the Executive Director of the Women of Color Policy Network at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at NYU and a Senior Research Fellow at the National Council for Research on Women. For the last 12 years, her work has centered on political participation and voting behavior; the political preferences and voting trends of youth, African-Americans and women; affirmative action, women's issues, health reform, immigration and welfare; youth organizing and education; and economic and human security. Media includes: NPR Talk of the Nation, NPR Washington, D.C. local affiliate, NPR Los Angeles, NPR Wisconsin, The Progressive, Women's E-News.