This week the House Budget Committee will assemble a final stimulus relief bill. To discuss, we SPOTLIGHT Elisabeth Jacobs. Jacobs is a Senior Fellow at The Urban Institute where she focuses on issues related to family economic security and economic mobility. Previously, she was Senior Director, Research, and Senior Fellow at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. She was responsible for developing and executing Equitable Growth’s strategic vision, connecting empirically-driven research on the impacts of economic inequality to public policy debates and outcomes. Media includes: National Journal, NPR.
On Monday, Nancy Pelosi announced that Congress will be putting together an independent "9/11-style" commisssion to investigate the Capitol riots. To discuss, we FEATURE Tara Maller. Maller is the Spokesperson and Senior Policy Advisor for the Counter Extremism Project and a Research Fellow in the International Security Program at New America. She is also a former military analyst at the CIA, where she focused on the Iraq insurgency. She publishes and speaks on a variety of topics including sanctions, diplomacy, intelligence, cybersecurity, terrorism, Iraq, women in security & national service. Media includes: Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, CNN, MSNBC, Fox.
It was reported that at least 30 law enforcement officers from around the country participated in the January 6th rally at the Capitol. To discuss, we FEATURE Andrea J. Ritchie. Through research, writing, legal services, and organizing, Ritchie has dedicated the past two decades to challenging racial profiling, police violence, criminalization and mass incarceration. A nationally recognized expert and commentator on policing issues, she has testified before the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, the White House Council on Women and Girls, the Prison Rape Elimination Commission, and several United Nations Treaty Bodies. Media includes: The New York Times, Washington Post, Teen Vogue, MSNBC, C-SPAN, NBC, NPR.
Rush Limbaugh has died at 70. To discuss, we FEATURE Jennifer Pozner. Pozner is a media critic, journalist, and Founding Director of Women In Media & News (WIMN), a media justice group which increases women’s presence and power in public debate through media analysis, education, and advocacy. She is author of Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV, the first book to expose how reality TV has functioned as backlash against gender and racial justice. Media includes: New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Village Voice, Newsweek, Ms. Magazine, Bitch Magazine, Elle Canada.
United Way Worldwide CEO Brian A. Gallagher is resigning amidst allegations that the company mishandled sexual harasment and discrimination claims. To discuss, we FEATURE Linda A. Seabrook. Seabrook is General Counsel at Futures Without Violence where she leads a number of programs aimed at reducing violence against women and children. Previously, she was at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, a national top-tier labor and employment law firm where she focused on employment discrimination and sexual harassment cases, and occupational safety and health law. Media includes: NPR.
The Lincoln Project has hired a law firm to review the sexual harassment claims made against its co-founder John Weaver. To discuss, we FEATURE Thea Ducrow. Ducrow started her career delivering sexual harassment prevention training in the 1990’s, when the need was less obvious than now. She researched sexual violence against women 60 and over for her dissertation. Her work over the past 20 years includes bringing proven business policies, procedures, and practices to organizations. Media includes: Associated Press, Good Housekeeping, Fox.
Fast food workers across 15 cities are going on strike to demand $15 an hour minimum wage. The strike includes workers from McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's as well as home care and nursing home workers. To discuss, we FEATURE Saru Jayaraman. Jayaraman is the Co-Founder and President of One Fair Wage, the co-founder of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United), and Director of the Food Labor Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. She has been fighting to raise wages and working conditions for restaurant and other service workers for nearly 20 years. Media includes: The New York Times, New York Magazine, CNN, NBC.
Enrollment for the Affordable Care Act began on Monday. To discuss, we FEATURE Laura Packard. Packard serves as Executive Director of Get America Covered to help people looking to enroll in health coverage and those who are helping other people sign-up, co-chair of Health Care Voter, and runs the pharma accountability campaign for Hero Action Fund, working to make sure any future coronavirus vaccines and COVID-19 treatments are available to all. She has been working on health care issues since 2009-10, when the AFL-CIO sent Packard to Arkansas to help get the Affordable Care Act passed. Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, MSNBC.
Texas is experiencing record-low weather temperatures with ice and snow that the region is not well equipped to handle. To discuss, we FEATURE Froswa’ Booker-Drew, Ph.D. Booker-Drew is currently Vice President of Community Affairs for the State Fair of Texas responsible for grantmaking, educational programming and community initiatives. She is a network weaver who believes relationships are the key to our personal, professional and organizational growth. Media includes: Forbes, Ozy, Bustle, Huffington Post.
February is Black History Month. To commemorate, we FEATURE Treva Lindsey. Lindsey is a Black feminist cultural critic, historian, and commentator. She is the author of Colored No More: Reinventing Black Womanhood in Washington D.C. She is also a professor at The Ohio State University. Her work covers topics ranging from violence against women to fashion at the Met Gala. Many of her pieces focus on representations and experiences of Black women, although her work on race, gender, sexuality, culture and politics encompasses the far-reaching and often untold effects of current events and pop culture moments. Media includes: Al Jazeera, The Root, Huffington Post, Popsugar, Teen Vogue, The Grio, Cosmopolitan.
Liz Theran
