Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation and has found that there was no collusion between President Trump and Russia. To discuss, we SPOTLIGHT Elizabeth Hempowicz. Hempowicz is POGO’s Policy Counsel. She oversees POGO’s legislative reform work, with a focus on whistleblower protections and government accountability. Hempowicz develops and advances public policies to combat corruption and to promote openness and accountability in government. She strategizes on the best way to translate POGO report findings into legislative reforms. She has participated in efforts to improve lobbying and congressional ethics rules, whistleblower protections, the Freedom of Information Act, and other open government initiatives. Media includes: NPR, Washington Examiner, Salon, Politico, Daily Caller.
On Monday, the father of one of the students killed during the Newtown school shooting was found dead of an apparent suicide. This follows the deaths, also believed to be by suicide, of two Parkland school shooting survivors. Both were said to be struggling with survivor's guilt and PTSD. To discuss, we FEATURE Sheela Raja. Raja is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and author of Overcoming Trauma and PTSD. the Sexual Trauma Workbook for Teen Girls and the PTSD Survival Guide for Teens. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she teaches Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Raja received her PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago and completed internship and post-doctoral training at the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Boston, MA. Media includes: CNN, HLN, ABC, WGN, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, CNN, Al Jazeera, Fox News.
The U.S. House of Representatives has failed to override President Trump's veto of the legislation that would have prevented him circumventing Congress to fund a border wall between Mexico and the U.S. The political fight will now continue in the courts. To discuss, we FEATURE Susan Estrich. Estrich teaches Criminal Law, Gender Discrimination, and Election Law at USC Law. She has clerked for the late Honorable J. Skelly Wright, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; and The Honorable John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. She was also special assistant to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and staff counsel and special assistant to the chief counsel for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Media includes: Fox News, KABC Radio, USA Today, Los Angeles Times.
The Justice Department is looking to invalidate the Affordable Care Act. To discuss, we FEATURE Dr. Sylvia Morris. Dr. Morris is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine. Dr. Morris’s goal is to utilize media to improve our nation’s public health by combining her training in Internal Medicine, Holistic Medicine and Public Health. Currently, she is a phsyician with Kaiser Permanente. Prior to coming to Kaiser Permanente, she was the Senior Medical Director on the Revenue Cycle Solutions team at The Advisory Board Company. Media includes: CNN, WAGA-TV/Fox 5, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The federal budget has been released and it is the largest monthly budget deficit since February 2012, with a gap of $234 billion compared to 2012's $231.7 billion. To discuss, we FEATURE Heidi Shierholz. Shierholz was the Chief Economist for the US Department of Labor. She now leads the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) in Washington, DC. She first joined EPI in August 2007. Throughout her career she has educated policymakers, journalists, and the public about the effects of economic policies on low- and middle-income families. Media includes: New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, CBS, NBC, CNN, NPR.
An arsonist set fire to a mosque in Escondido, California, and graffitied the walls with a reference to the massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand. Investigators are looking into it as a hate crime. To discuss, we FEATURE Rabiah Ahmed. Ahmed is the former Media and Public Affairs Director for the Muslim Public Affairs Council where she focused on generating awareness of MPAC's policy positions as well as strategic communications for the larger American Muslim community. Today, she is CEO of Mirza Public Relations: a strategic communications firm that specializes in media relations, marketing, multimedia production, and event management. A media professional with more than 15 years of communications experience, Rabiah has worked extensively on public perceptions of Islam and Muslims and has launched campaigns such as "Muslims Care" and "My Faith My Voice" to address the rising tide of anti-Muslim sentiment in our society. Media includes: BBC, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, GEO, Al-Arabiya, NPR, WTOP.
March is Women's History Month and, to commemorate its last week, we FEATURE Robin Leeds. Leeds is the founder and managing director of Winning Strategies LLC, a public affairs and political consulting firm based in Washington, DC. Leeds has devoted her career to expanding access to economic, civil, and social opportunities for all Americans and is a powerful voice for women, people of color, the LGBTQ community, and other underrepresented groups. While serving at the Clinton White House Office on Women’s Initiatives and Outreach, Leeds coordinated domestic public policy and constituency engagement efforts and led numerous domestic and international women’s initiatives on behalf of the President and First Lady. Media includes: Chicago Tribune, Poltico, The New York Times, France 24.
Alicia White
Liz Theran
