Biographies
Veronica Arreola, host
Joanne Bamberger, host
Ellen Bravo, Executive Director, Family Values @Work
Heather Boushey, Senior Economist, Center for American Progress
Elisa Camahort Page, Co-Founder, BlogHer
Ana Roca Castro, Founder, Latinos in Social Media
Marc Chimes, Host
Scott Coltrane, Dean, University of Oregon; Author, Gender and Families
Scott Coltrane is Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon and a sociologist whose research focuses on families and gender. He completed his undergraduate studies at Yale University and the University of California, Santa Cruz, and received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Sociology from UCSC. He is the author of several books, including Family Man, Gender and Families, Families and Society, and Sociology of Marriage and the Family. He has published over 70 scholarly articles and chapters on the sociology of families with special attention to variation in the organization of parenting and the allocation of domestic labor. Coltrane’s research investigates how and why men are involved (or uninvolved) in housework and child care and how this influences their partners, their children and their families.
Avis Jones-DeWeever, Director of Research & Policy, Center for African-American Women, National Council of Negro Women
Avis A. Jones-DeWeever, Ph.D. is the Director of the Research, Public Policy, and Information Center for African American Women at the National Council of Negro Women. Dr. Jones-DeWeever is the author of numerous publications focused on policy-issues of particular importance to women of color. In addition to her written contributions, Dr. Jones-DeWeever is a highly sought-after political commentator and public speaker. Her policy perspectives have been shared through a variety of media outlets including: CNN, PBS, ABC News Now, Voice of America Television, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, National Public Radio, Sirius and XM Radio, Glamour Magazine, Pink Magazine, Essence Magazine, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, and Vital Speeches of the Day. Dr. Jones-DeWeever received her Ph.D. in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park. She serves on the Board of the Women’s Voices. Women’s Vote. Action Fund and maintains the position of Affiliated Scholar with the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director, Momsrising.org
Deborah L. Frett, CEO, Business and Professional Women’s Foundation
Deborah L. Frett currently serves as the chief executive officer of Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation, a 501(c)(3) research and education organization that partners to create successful workplaces for women, families and employers. A Chicago native, Frett is an accomplished executive with over 30 years of experience providing strategic direction and executive management to associations, for-profit and start-up organizations. As CEO, she is a frequent speaker and panelist on the creation of successful workplaces, providing expertise in the areas of workforce development, workplace policy and job readiness as they pertain to working women and businesses. Frett is engaged in policy discussions and an advocate with regard to veteran and sustainability issues as well as redefining the workplace to meet the needs of the 21st century. She has provided congressional testimony and served as an expert for key briefings on issues impacting working women, families and veterans.
Kathy Korman Frey, Founder, Hot Mommas Project, George Washington University
Kim Gandy, host
Page Gardner, Founder, Women’s Voices, Women Vote
Jaime Grant, Director of the Policy Institute, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Jaime Grant, Director of the Policy Institute at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, holds a Ph. D. in Women’s Studies from the Union Institute. For six years, she directed the Union Institute’s Center for Women, the nation’s only academic women’s center dedicated to collaborations between scholars and activists. Her articles on transformational organizations and coalition work have been published in major academic journals and anthologies. A femme and a feminist, a sex radical and a mom, Grant lives in the Petworth neighborhood of DC with her partner and their two children.
Deborah Halpern, Communications Director, National Family Caregivers Association
Heather Holdridge, Host
JusticeFergie, Co-Founder, Blogalicious
LAW, Blogger, Liberal Army Wife
LAW is the acronym for the army wife who blogs on Proud Liberal Army Wife. She is one of the "old broads," having been an Active Army Wife for years before her husband became a National Guardsman. After many many years in the Guard, and after 9/11, her husband began years of work as an AGR (Active Guard Reserve) member, and subsequently went back into the Active Army. LAW began blogging during his first deployment to Iraq, which came after their son’s deployment to Iraq. LAW is a full-time senior paralegal at a lawfirm, volunteers at a pet shelter in her area, has helped start two other blogs, Left Face and ParentsZone, and is a fanatic knitter presently cranking out troop hats for a military charitable group. LAW has also worked hard to help with the MSRRA (Military Spouse Residency Relief Act) and other political action groups working for her passion – military families.
Judy Martin, Founder, WorkLifeNation.com
Judy Martin is an Emmy-award winning broadcast journalist who tracks business and workplace trends as the founder of WorkLifeNation.com. With more than 15 years covering business news and corporate culture, Judy has contributed as a national radio reporter to Marketplace Morning report, NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered, The World Vision Report, CNBC Business Radio, and BBC Radio 3. Among her accolades: the National Press Foundation Economic Fellowship, Associated Press Club Award, Telly Award, Angel Award and numerous Long Island Press Club Awards. Judy continues to freelance for primetime newscasts at News 12 Long Island, and as the primary fill-in host for Long Island Talks, a live call-in talk show focusing on current events and business. Judy also produces and hosts a weekly webisode aligned with her WorkLifeNation.com blog. As a former New York City Correspondent for American Public Media’s Marketplace Morning Report, Judy covered business, corporate and workplace issues. She reported live from Ground Zero after the terror attacks and live from the New York Stock Exchange the day it reopened after the events of 9/11. She also volunteered with the children of the victims for weeks after the tragedy. In those tenuous years, Judy covered the upheaval in the corporate arena and the global markets. Judy is a certified Hospice volunteer and has worked with both adults and children in the last stages of their lives. She also teaches meditation and stress reduction techniques to business executives. In 2006, she released her first CD, Practical Chaos: Reflection on Resilience.
Lisa Maatz, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations, AAUW
Shireen Mitchell, host
Stephanie Himel-Nelson, Director of New Media, Blue Star Families
Stephanie Himel-Nelson is an advocate for military families and the New Media Director for Blue Star Families, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to connecting and empowering military families. She comes by her military family "street cred" as part of a third generation military family. In her for profit life, Stephanie is an attorney, social media consultant and writer. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post, the Huffington Post and been syndicated in newspapers and on websites across the country. She blogs about the personal at http://lawyermama.com, the political at http://momocrats.com and military families at http://bluestarfam.org.
Melanie Notkin, Founder, Savvy Auntie
Gloria Pan, Host
Deborah Russell, Director of Workplace Issues, AARP
Deborah Russell is the Director of Workforce Issues at AARP, the primary national resource on issues addressing the economic and retirement security of individuals 50+. As Director, Ms. Russell leads a team that focuses on issues effecting individuals 50+ by developing information, programs, technical assistance, and practical research. In addition, she established the Best Employers for Workers Over 50 award, recognizing companies that demonstrate exemplary policies and practices for the 50+ workforce. Ms. Russell has appeared on national television programs such as CNN, CNBC, Good Morning America, CBS Morning Show and CBS Evening News and is frequently quoted in national and local newspapers. Ms. Russell is the 2007 recipient of the ASA Leadership Award for outstanding contributions in the field of aging awarded by the American Society on Aging. Ms. Russell has her degree in Political Science from the University of Maryland.
Hugo Schwyzer, Blogger, hugoschwyzer.net
Dr. Hugo Schwyzer received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and holds a Ph.D. from UCLA. Since 1993 he has taught courses in history and gender studies at Pasadena City College. Dr. Schwyzer has taught popular courses on Women’s History, Men and Masculinity, and a cutting-edge class on Beauty, the Body, and the Western Tradition, which surveys the history of the relentless pursuit of an unattainable aesthetic ideal. Dr. Schwyzer has served as a popular facilitator, workshop leader, and speaker on issues revolving around sexuality, masculinity, relationships, and self-image. He has presented workshops on sexual harassment, rape prevention, and the “myth of male weakness” at institutions as diverse as Fuller Theological Seminary and Brown University. Since 2004, he has blogged at his popular, eponymous site, which receives tens of thousands of unique visitors each month.
Catherine Singley, Economic and Employment Policy Analyst, National Council of La Raza
Catherine Singly is a policy analyst with the National Council of La Raza (NCLR). She specializes in economic security, the low-wage labor market, immigrant workers and job quality. Catherine received her B.A. in International Relations and Spanish from the University of Delaware.
Katie Stanton, host
Suzanne Turner, host
Marisa Treviño, Publisher, www.latinalista.net
Jillian Weiss, Blogger, The Bilerico Project; Associate Professor of Law and Society, Ramapo College
Joan Williams, Director, Center for WorkLife Law at University of California –Hastings
Marcia Yerman, host
Diana Zuckerman, President, National Research Center for Women and Families
Diana Zuckerman, Ph.D., is the President of the National Research Center for Women & Families, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research and education organization that works to improve policies and programs that affect the health and safety of adults and children. She is a frequently quoted and nationally respected expert on health and health policy issues. She has testified several dozen times, including testimony before Congress, the Canadian Parliament, FDA Advisory Committees, EPA meetings, and the FDA Science Board. In 2008 and 2009, she was listed as a possible FDA Commissioner in the Obama Administration by MSNBC and other media. She is the author of the Survival Guide for Working Moms (and Other Stressed-Out Adults) and four other books, several book chapters, and dozens of articles in academic journals and national newspapers.
