Sept. 28, 2016
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) The Catholic University of America has experts from various backgrounds and fields of study available to discuss the 2016 presidential election. Each source has extensive media experience. For more information or to search for other Catholic University faculty experts, visit the Experts Guide at http://publicaffairs.cua.edu/experts/ .
- International Finance and Economic Development - Maria Sophia Aguirre , professor of economics, specializes in international finance and economic development. She is an expert in the areas of exchange rates and economic integration, as well as on theories of population, resources, family as it relates to economic development and growth, and on impact evaluation She has appeared in global news outlets including NewsWeekly, La Nación, National Review , BBC News, PBS, La República, Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post . Formerly a presidential appointee to the U.S. Advisory Commission on Foreign Diplomacy, Dr. Aguirre has testified on issues related to population, family, and health before the U.S. Congress, the United Nations, and parliaments in Central America, Africa and Canada. Contact Aguirre at 202-319-4957 or aguirre@cua.edu .
- Gender and Ethnic Diversity - Sandra Hanson ,professor of sociology, focuses a large portion of her work researching and analyzing gender and race/ethnic diversity in educational and occupational systems in a comparative context. Her recent work has also explored mobility and immigration issues in Latino American Dream (2016) and The American Dream in the 21st Century (2011), both edited with John Kenneth White of Catholic Unviersity's politics department. The volumes use cultural, historical, political, sociological, and religious perspectives to examine this exceptional component of America culture - the American Dream. In anticipation of the upcoming Presidential elections, Dr. Hanson is working on research, which examines trends in voting attitudes and how they vary by gender and race/ethnicity. She has been featured in numerous publications including Sociology of Education , Public Opinion Quarterly , Demography, Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering , and Journal of Marriage and Family Studies . Contact Hanson at (202) 319-5955 or hanson@cua.edu .
- Transatlantic Security and NATO - Dorle Hellmuth, assistant professor of politics, is an expert on counterterrorism, counter/de-radicalization, NATO, nuclear proliferation, and security/defense matters, all with an eye towards transatlantic relations. Previously, she has held an appointment as a research fellow at the National War College, National Defense University. Author of Counterterrorism and the State (2016), Hellmuth has published articles in various professional journals and policy outlets. She is a fellow at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University (AICGS) and the German Institute on Radicalization and De-radicalization Studies (GIRDS). Contact Hellmuth at 202-319-4189 or hellmuth@cua.edu .
- Religion and Politics - Chad Pecknold, associate professor of theology, is an expert in secularism and the Catholic Church, Christian unity, and political division. Author of several books, Pecknold is a frequent contributor to debates in the public square, writing regular columns for First Things and National Review on a range of topics related to the importance and impact of Church teaching on social and political questions. He is also often quoted in The Washington Post. Contact Pecknold at 202-319-6899 or pecknold@cua.edu .
- Race, Inequality, and Politics - Enrique Pumar, associate professor of sociology, is an expert in topics including educational opportunities, inequality, migration and immigration reform, Hispanic/Latino vote and political participation, race relations, and crime. In 2012, he received a grant from the Smithsonian Latino Center to direct the second phase of its Latino History Project documenting the footprint of Hispanic migration to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. He is the author of multiple publications in the areas of political sociology, national development, migration, and crime and security. He is currently editing a book about the Hispanic presence in the Washington metropolitan region. He has been featured previously on NPR's Talk of the Nation and has appeared recently on CNN Espanol, Telemundo, and NBC. Contact Pumar at 202-319-5941 or pumar@cua.edu .
- The Executive and the Electorate - John Kenneth White, professor of politics, is a presidential scholar. He can provide insight and historical perspective on the election and the impact of moral and Catholic values on the American electorate. Author of Barack Obama's America: How New Conceptions of Race, Family, and Religion Ended the Reagan Era and What Happened to the Republican Party, he has served as a guide to the political caucus process for C-SPAN and is a veteran source for print and broadcast journalists. White can be reached at 202-319-6136 or white@cua.edu .
- The Economy and the Election - Ernest Zampelli , professor of business and economics, studies applied microeconomics, public sector economics, and energy economics. He can comment on economic factors that are impacting the election, such as the role of government in a market economy, economic policy towards environment, tax policy, deficit reduction, and fiscal stimulus. Contact Zampelli at 202-319-6683 or zampelli@cua.edu .
- Latin American Economics - Luanne D. Zurlo , assistant professor of finance, focuses her research on the political economies of Latin America, education in developing countries, and Latin American telecommunications. Zurlo led a multi-disciplinary online certificate program for professionals on Catholic Social Doctrine launched this year at CUA. She founded Worldfund in 2002 - a non-profit dedicated to improving education quality in Latin America - after a nine-year career as an Institutional Investor-ranked equity analyst at Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs. She has lived, traveled and worked extensively in Latin America and Europe. Contact Zurlo at zurlo@cua.edu .
For assistance in reaching sources, contact Katie Lee or Mary McCarthy Hines in the Office of Marking and Communications at 202-319-5600 . To search for other Catholic University faculty experts, visit the Experts Guide at http://publicaffairs.cua.edu/experts/ .
