On May 1st, Daniel Penny put Jordan Neely, a Black subway performer, into a lethal chokehold in a New York subway car. Since the killing, protestors have been calling for Penny to be charged with murder in what they are referring to as a lynching. To discuss, we FEATURE Jennifer Epps-Addison. Epps-Addison is the Founder and Chief Imagineer at Synergy Power Consulting, a coach-collaborator consulting firm supporting the next generation of social change leaders. Epps-Addison, a leader who has deep experience building power in communities from the ground up, founded Synergy Power Consulting at a time when local community voices matter more than ever in creating a nationwide movement to fight for dignity and opportunity for all people. She brings with her a commitment to supporting and growing racial justice organizations, especially Black-Led organizations, strengthening investments in power-building efforts in BIPOC communities and deepening organizing strategies that build power with the white working-class by addressing racism head-on and building authentic alliances based on shared interests and shared values. Media includes: The Washington Post, The Guardian, International Business Times, Politico, MSNBC, NPR.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike continues with no end in sight. Hollywood screenwriters have been calling for better pay and improved working conditions. To discuss, we FEATURE Angela Marie Hutchinson. Hutchinson is a Television Academy member, a showrunner, screenwriter, and producer with over fifteen years of experience in the entertainment industry. For nearly a decade, Angela has produced a diverse portfolio with her media company, BiH Entertainment. She also works as a career coach, public speaker and business consultant. Angela’s clients call her The Dream Builder. In 2005, Angela founded BReaKiNG iNTo HoLLyWooD, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that helps entertainment professionals pursue their careers. Media includes: Style Magazine, BBC, CBS, NPR.

Appeals made to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have shown that sexual misconduct allegations made by CIA employees and contractors were either ignored or opened the door for retaliation and harassment. To discuss, we FEATURE Terri Gerstein. Gerstein is the Director of the Project on State and Local Enforcement at the Harvard Law School Labor and Worklife Program and a Senior Fellow at the Economic Policy Institute. Previously, she was the Labor Bureau Chief for the New York State Attorney General’s Office and a Deputy Commissioner in the New York State Department of Labor. She is an expert on workers' rights, labor and employment policy, and government enforcement of labor and employment laws. Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC News Think, Slate, The Nation, The Guardian, The Hill, The American Prospect.

Since the overturning of Roe v Wade, abortion has become a hot button issue across many states. To discuss, we FEATURE Shireen Rose Shakouri. Shireen is deputy director of Reproaction. She is trained as an abortion doula and serves as a clinic escort at a D.C. clinic. She is Iranian and Italian-American, and has a fire in her belly for reproductive justice work largely driven by a commitment to affirming the leadership of Earth-colored people, with direct action and direct service as her favored tools. This drive led her to building hard-hitting campaigns and managing special research projects at Reproaction before she was promoted to leadership in early 2021. Media includes: HuffPost, Teen Vogue, Bitch Media.

Eight people were killed on Sunday when a SUV drove into a crowd near a migrant center in Texas. To discuss, we FEATURE Nisha Varia. Varia is an experienced human rights investigator, author, advocate, and trainer who has worked in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. She develops and leads trainings on human rights research and advocacy methodologies, including techniques for interviewing survivors of trauma and gender-based violence. Varia was advocacy director of Human Rights Watch's women's rights division between 2015 and 2022 and a researcher between 2003 and 2014. She is able to speak on a wide variety of human rights issues including gender discrimination and violence, women’s rights, labor, migration, corporate accountability, and ethics in human rights research and methods. Media includes: The New York Times, Financial Times, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, BBC, CNN.

Jurors in the Trump sexual assault trial have begun deliberations. To discuss, we FEATURE Deborah Tuerkheimer. Tuerkheimer is a Professor of Law at Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law. She is author of Credible: Why We Doubt Accusers and Protect Abusers and Flawed Convictions: “Shaken Baby Syndrome” and the Inertia of Injustice. She is also a co-author of the casebook Feminist Jurisprudence: Cases and Materials and the author of numerous articles on sexual violence and domestic violence. After clerking for Alaska Supreme Court Justice Jay Rabinowitz, she served for five years as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office, where she specialized in domestic violence prosecution. Media includes: The Washington Post, The Economist, The New York Times, CNN.

The U.S. will be lifting COVID-19 travel restrictions starting May 11 and vaccinations will no longer be required to enter the country. To discuss, we FEATURE Renu Singh. Singh is a Research Assistant Professor within the Division of Public Policy and a Junior Fellow at the Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. As a political scientist and microbiologist by training, she aims to bridge the worlds of science and policy through her research on comparative social policy, global health security, and the political economy of health. Media includes: Foreign Policy, Shape Magazine, Duck of Minerva.

New advice from health experts has urged women of all racial and ethnic backgrounds to begin getting mammograms at the age 40. This follows research that shows a rise in breast cancer, with a particulary high death rates for Black women. To discuss, we FEATURE Dr. Dara Richardson-Heron, a distinguished Fortune 100 corporate executive, board director and physician with over 25 years of leadership excellence in healthcare, corporate and non-profit sectors. A frequent speaker on equity in medicine and women in leadership, Dr. Richardson-Heron is known for her transformative contributions to improving disparities in healthcare and the workplace. Previously, Dr. Richardson-Heron, M.D., served for four years as CEO of the Greater New York City Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.® During her tenure, the Affiliate has ranked as the #1 Komen Affiliate in fundraising and grants awarded — outpacing over 120 other Affiliates in the US and abroad. The Susan G. Komen for the Cure® organization is the largest source of nonprofit funds in the world dedicated to the fight against breast cancer. Dr. Richardson-Heron is a 15-year and counting breast cancer survivor and a powerful advocate and public spokesperson for preventive health and breast cancer awareness. Media includes: Washington Business Journal, MSNBC, CBS.

This is Teacher Appreciation Week. To discuss, we FEATURE Colette Coleman. Colette is an education expert focused on equity and ending the literacy crisis. She is a former Teach For America teacher who also worked at an international school in Indonesia. Colette holds a Bachelor's degree from Yale and a Master's in education from Loyola Marymount University. Colette's education op-eds have been in top outlets including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and Newsweek. She has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and U.S. News and World Report. Colette was recently interviewed for a live segment on CBS News.

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. To discuss, we FEATURE Grace Huang, the Policy Director at the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence. For 25 years, she has advocated on behalf of domestic and sexual violence survivors and immigrants. Previously, Huang led the policy program at a statewide domestic violence organization, coordinating the organization’s advocacy on state & federal legislation & court policies. Huang also previously practiced immigration law, as well as represented low-income individuals in a civil legal aid organization. Huang continues to work on federal legislative and administrative policies to address the needs of victims, including on immigration legislation, the Violence Against Women Act, the Family Violence Services and Prevention Act, and the Victims of Crime Act. Media includes: The Atlantic, Buzzfeed, The Huffington Post, The Hill, Slate, Vice.