The Georgia election for two U.S. Senate seats is today. The results will determine which party will have the majority in the Senate. To discuss, we SPOTLIGHT Senator Nan Grogan Orrock. Orrock is the President of the Women Legislators’ Lobby, a national network of women state legislators launched by Women’s Action for New Directions in 1991. After ten terms in the Georgia State House of Representatives, serving as the first female House Majority Whip, she was elected in 2006 from Atlanta’s downtown neighborhoods to the State Senate. Senator Orrock is member of the, Appropriations, Finance, Health and Human Services, Higher Education, and Urban Affairs Committees. Sen. Orrock is also an appointee to the Georgia World Congress Center and the Ft. McPherson LRA. Media includes: Time Magazine, The Nation, MSNBC, CNN, CBS, ABC.
In a weekend phone call, Donald Trump tried to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find votes" to overturn the presidential election. To discuss, we FEATURE Brenda Wright. Wright is the Vice President of Legal Strategies at Demos. She has led many progressive legal and policy initiatives on voting rights, campaign finance reform, redistricting, election administration and other democracy and electoral reform issues and is a nationally known expert in these areas. She has argued two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court: Randall v. Sorrell (campaign finance) and Young v. Fordice (voting rights). Extensive media experience.
Tomorrow, Congress will meet to certify November's presidential election results. A group of Republican senators and dozens of Republican members of the House Representatives are expected to object to the results, although the effort is likely to fail. To discuss, we FEATURE Donna R. Hoffman. Hoffman is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Northern Iowa. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma, where her research focused on partisan changes in the American electorate. Her research focuses on both electoral politics and presidential rhetoric. Her work on electoral politics examines changes in the partisan composition of the American electorate. Media includes: Time Magazine, Bloomberg News, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal.
Google employees have formed a union, now called Alphabet Workers Union, to demand an overhaul in pay policy and that the company addresses sexual harassment and ethics issues. To discuss, we FEATURE Erica Smiley. Smiley is the executive director of Jobs With Justice. A long-time organizer and movement leader, Smiley has been spearheading strategic organizing and policy interventions for Jobs With Justice for over 15 years. Prior to taking up her current position with the organization, Smiley served as organizing director for Jobs With Justice developing campaigns that resulted in transformative changes to how working people organize and are civically engaged at their workplaces and in their communities. Media includes: The Chicago Tribune, The Washingon Free Beacon, Reuters, MSNBC.
A British court has rejected the United States' request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. To discuss, we FEATURE Judy Endejan. Endejan is a Seattle attorney with the firm of Garvey Schubert Barer. A former professional journalist, Endejan has made a major mark on the state of Free Speech and Free Press law. Her practice focuses on telecommunications, media and intellectual property issues. She has represented a wide range of clients with case under the First Amendment, the Federal Communications Act, intellectual property laws and the regulatory laws of California, Washington and Oregon. Extensive media experience.
Five anchorwomen will leave NY1 as part of a settlement of an age and gender discrimination lawsuit that alleged that the company was cutting their air time in favor of younger hosts. To discuss, we FEATURE Kalpana Kotagal. Kotagal is a Partner in Cohen Milstein and a member of the firm’s Civil Rights & Employment practice and Chair of the firm’s Hiring and Diversity Committee. She focuses almost exclusively on employment class actions involving allegations of discrimination. Currently, she represents a class of female sales employees in a Title VII and Equal Pay Act case against one of the nation's largest jewelry chains in Jock, et al. v Sterling Jewelers Inc. Her clients have alleged a pattern of sex discrimination in compensation and promotions. Media includes: Variety, USA Today, Jezebel, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times.
Iran has resumed enriching uranium to 20% purity. To discuss, we FEATURE Samantha Pitts-Kiefer. Pitts-Kiefer is the Director of the Global Nuclear Policy Program at the Nuclear Threat Initiative where she leads programming on nuclear weapons policy. She joined NTI in June 2012 and has led two major projects: the NTI Nuclear Security Index and the Global Dialogue on Nuclear Security Priorities. She helped lead NTI’s analysis related to the Nuclear Security Summit process and helped develop new projects on cybersecurity of nuclear facilities and nuclear command and control. She is an expert on nuclear security governance and international law. Media includes: Huffington Post, CCTV America.
Three Grammy's contenders have declined their nominations after learning that the category was all white. The three acts were nominated for Best Children's Album Grammy Award. To discuss, we FEATURE April Reign. As the creator of the viral hashtag-turned-movement, #OscarsSoWhite, Reign has been challenging the lack of representation of marginalized communities in Hollywood and beyond since 2015. Reign sustains a movement that has resulted in the most permanent systemic change ever seen in the over 80-year history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her name continues to be synonymous with this historic change, the results of which are reverberating throughout the entertainment industry and will do so for decades to come. Media includes: Huffington Post, The Guardian, Forbes, Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN.
Liz Theran
