Nineteen children and two teachers were killed yesterday after a gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas and opened fired. To discuss, we SPOTLIGHT Shannon Watts. Watts is a mother of five who, prior to founding Moms Demand Action, was a stay-at-home mom and former communications executive for both public relations agencies and Fortune 500 corporations. The day after the Sandy Hook tragedy, Shannon started a Facebook group with the message that all Americans can and should do more to reduce gun violence. The online conversation turned into a grassroots movement of American mothers fighting for public safety measures that respect the Second Amendment and protect people from gun violence. Moms Demand Action has established a chapter in every state of the country and is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country, with more than three million supporters. Media includes: Time, The Washington Post, MSNBC, CNN, NPR.
The Texas school shooting was the second mass shooting in the U.S. in 10 days. On May 14, a gunman killed 10 people and injured three in a racist attack at a Buffalo grocery store. To discuss the trauma of dealing with gun violence, we FEATURE Shaili Jain. Jain is an internationally recognized psychiatrist and PTSD specialist who currently serves as the Medical Director for Integrated Care at the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System. She is a trauma scientist with the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, a consortium which is widely regarded as the world's leading center of excellence on PTSD. She is also a leader in communicating to the public about trauma and PTSD. Her posts for her Psychology Today PTSD Blog, “In the Aftermath of Trauma” have been viewed over 200,000 times. Her acclaimed debut non-fiction trade book, The Unspeakable Mind: Stories of Trauma and Healing from the Frontlines of PTSD Science (Harper, 2019) is a textured portrait of this widely misunderstood yet crushing condition that afflicts millions. Media includes: Newsweek, BBC, CNN.
Southern Baptist Convention leaders say they will release the names of alleged sexual abusers after earlier this week releasing an explosive report concluding that leaders intentionally suppressed reports of sex abuse and resisted reform. To discuss, we FEATURE Angela Bonavoglia. Bonavoglia is an award-winning journalist and author who is nationally recognized for her writing about women and the Catholic Church. The National Catholic Reporter called her most recent book, Good Catholic Girls: How Women Are Leading the Fight to Change the Church (Harper Collins),"Detailed and well-documented....Takes a fresh look at the post-sexual-scandal church and finds the landscape both familiar and surprising." Bonavoglia was among the first journalists to cover the sexual exploitation of girls and women by clergy across denominations, including the Catholic Church, which she did in 1992 for Ms. Her feature article on the current, unprecedented moment of reckoning being faced by Church leaders appears in the winter 2019 issue of Ms.—“Calling the Church to Account.” Media includes: The Nation, The Chicago Tribune, Newsday, The Miami Herald, Rewire, Ms., Salon.
President Biden has begun forming an economic bloc of Asia-Pacific nations in order to counter China's dominance in the region. To discuss, we FEATURE Ann Lee. Lee is an internationally recognized leading authority on China’s economic relations. Ann is the author of the book What the U.S. Can Learn from China, an award winning international bestseller, and the book Will China’s Economy Collapse? She is a former faculty member at Peking University, New York University, and Pace University where she taught macroeconomics and financial derivatives and was made an honorary professor at Sias University. Media includes: The New York Times,The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, ABC, CBS, CNN, CNBC.
Today marks the second anniversary of George Floyd's murder by a white police officer. His death sparked national and global protests against police brutality. To discuss, we FEATURE Jilisa Milton. Milton is an Alabama-based civil rights attorney, policy analyst, social worker, racial justice activist, community organizer, and relational strategist. She has nearly a decade of experience working at the intersection of racial equity, critical race & feminist theory, poverty, criminal justice reform, mental health, and reproductive justice. Milton is a leader in major social justice initiatives and organizations demanding transformative change on a local and regional level. She became one of the founders of Black Lives Matter Birmingham Chapter, namely as a survivor of police violence. She is a media expert on racial justice, police reform, social policy, intercultural communications, and social movement strategy. Media includes: Birmingham Times, Bloomberg Law.
The U.S. is experiencing a nationwide baby formula shortage, leaving many parents desperate and struggling to feed their babies. The shortage was caused by a recall of products produced by Abbott Nutrition, one of the leading producers of baby formula in the U.S. To discuss, we FEATURE Chloe Demrovsky. Demrovsky is an internationally recognized thought leader and keynote speaker on all things risk and resilience. She is the youngest and first female Chief Executive of Disaster Recovery Institute, the leading global nonprofit serving resilience professionals, is a Senior Contributor at Forbes and an Adjunct Professor at NYU. Demrovsky is an expert on business continuity and resilience, risk management, supply chain disruptions, operational incidents. Media includes: The New York Times, LA Times, Inc., Sky News, USA Today, BBC, CNBC, Fox News.
As the Supreme Court stands poised to overturn Roe v Wade, 26 states have either already criminalized abortion or plan to do so. To discuss, we FEATURE Lily Bolourian. Bolourian is Executive Director of Pro-Choice Maryland. She is an Iranian-American writer and organizer with 15 years of experience as an organizer around reproductive justice, immigration, police violence, imperialism, and climate issues. She has worked in direct abortion care throughout pregnancy, run political campaigns, and is an expert on Middle Eastern feminism and reproductive justice, abortion rights throughout pregnancy, and state violence. Media includes: Mic News, Wear Your Voice.
WMC SheSource has a list of additional experts on abortion and reproductive health.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. To discuss, we FEATURE Brianne Todd. Todd is an Assistant Professor of Central Asian Studies at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University, where her areas of expertise include transnational threats and regional security issues in Central Asia, Russia, and the Caucasus. Before joining the NESA Center in January 2010, she worked at the Center for Political-Military Analysis at the Hudson Institute, where she analyzed U.S. and foreign defense, intelligence, and homeland security and counter-terrorism policies; and the Eurasian Strategy Project, where she focused on Eurasian political and security issues. Additionally, she previously worked for the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC, where she was awarded the Franklin Award, and the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia. Extensive media experience.
Trader Joe's workers at a store in Massachusetts have announced that they intend to unionize. This would make them the first store to unionize within the company and could mark the beginning of more stores following suit. To discuss, we FEATURE Sarita Gupta. Gupta is director of the Ford Foundation’s Future of Work(ers) program, leading the team that oversees Ford’s efforts to actively shape a future of work that puts workers and their well-being at the center. Gupta joined the foundation with more than 20 years of experience working to expand people’s ability to come together to improve their workplaces, their communities, and their lives by creating solutions to the problems they face. She has deep expertise in policy advocacy, organizing, and building partnerships across the workers’ rights and care movements, having served as executive director of Jobs With Justice and co-director of Caring Across Generations. Media includes: The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News.
The Taliban has ordered that all female TV anchors must veil their faces while on air. To discuss, we FEATURE Noorjahan Akbar. Akbar is a feminist advocate and author from Afghanistan. She has worked with several Afghan and global organizations focusing on women’s empowerment and ending gender-based violence and led nationwide campaigns and protests in defense of human rights. She currently runs Free Women Writers, a collective of activists and writers in Afghanistan and the diaspora advocating for gender equality and social justice, where she’s published two books, دختران رابعه and You Are Not Alone/تو تنها نیستی, a booklet for Afghan women facing violence at home. Media includes: Al Jazeera, The New York Times, ABC, CNN, NPR.
Closing arguments are set for Friday in the Johnny Depp- Amber Heard defamation trial. Depp is suing Heard for defamation over an op-ed she wrote about domestic abuse. The case has been viewed as a blowback to the #MeToo movement with many fearing that it could set a precedent for accusers of sexual violence being sued for speaking up. To discuss, we FEATURE Madeline Garcia Bigelow. Bigelow is the Associate Executive Director and Director of the Domestic Violence Project at the Urban Justice Center, an advocacy and direct legal service organization dedicated to serving New York City’s most vulnerable residents. She founded the Project in 2003, assembling a team of attorneys, social workers, and advocates who work cohesively to address the issues confronted by victims of domestic violence in both a legal and non-legal context. Media includes: New York Daily News, Telemundo.
Monday is Memorial Day. To commemorate, we FEATURE Asha Castleberry. A U.S. Army veteran, Castleberry completed a 30 month deployment in the Middle East. Since the 2014 ISIL incursion in Iraq, she served for Combined Joint Task ForceOperation Inherent Resolve (Anti ISIS Military Campaign) in Iraq and Kuwait. From December 2012 to June 2014, Castleberry served as the Kuwait Desk Officer for International Military Affairs, U.S. Army Central. In 2011, she received a student fellowship to work with the U.S. Mission to the United Nations at the State Department. She is a member of the Truman National Security Project’s Defense Council, a global fellow at the Project on the Study on the 21st Century (PS21), Adjunct Fellow at the American Security Project and a cofounder of International Youth Council. Extensive media experience.
May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. To commemorate, we FEATURE Nellie Tran. Tran studies subtle gender biases within the educational context for students and faculty, especially women and people of color. She holds a Ph.D. in Community and Prevention Psychology, is a funded National Science Foundation researcher, has held multiple national elected positions in the Asian American Psychological Association and the Society for Community Research and Action, and has developed and runs several leadership and empowerment programs for students and early career professionals nation-wide. As a professor at SDSU, she trains master's level multicultural community counseling students and serves as the faculty advisor to the Asian Pacific Student Alliance. Media includes: Teaching Tolerance Magazine.
WMC SheSource has a list of additional experts for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.















