ProfNet Experts Available on Sanctuary Cities, Education Policy, More

NEW YORK, March 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network who are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.

You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network – it's easy and free! Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/queryform

EXPERT ALERTS

• Sanctuary Cities Executive Order
• Supreme Court's Ruling in Endrew F v. Douglas County School District
• Zika and Travel Safety
• Comment on New Controversial Dinosaur Research at University of Cambridge

MEDIA JOBS

• Markets Editor – OPIS
• Reporter – FundFire
• Senior Communications Strategist – Southern Poverty Law Center

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• Why People Are Jerks on Social Media – and What Brands Can Do About It
• Cracking the Facebook Code: How LittleThings Conquered the Social Network
• Blog Profiles: Science Blogs

EXPERT ALERTS:

Sanctuary Cities Executive Order
Edward T. Waters
Managing Partner
Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP
Waters is available for interviews on the executive order on 'sanctuary cities' that will terminate all federal grants to cities, including public health and safety net funds, as well as the illegality of the order and how cities can defend their funding: "Federal grant programs should be implemented as intended by Congress, whether to improve public health, teach our children or make our roadways safe. They should not be subject to the whim of heavy-handed political figures. In this instance, if the present administration and Congress fail to nullify the sanctuary cities executive order, the courts surely will."
Waters, a Washington, D.C. lawyer, won nearly $15 million for eight health centers in litigation with Washington State; reversed termination of Head Start grants in New Mexico and Connecticut; won a bid protest for a Medicaid managed care plan over the competitive award of managed care contracts; and served as general counsel for one of the country's largest health centers for 17 years. He teaches what is likely the only course on federal grants in the nation, at the George Washington School of Law.
ProfNet Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/edwardtwaters
Website: https://www.feldesmantucker.com
Contact: Bill Sklar, bill@billsklar.com

Supreme Court's Ruling in Endrew F v. Douglas County School District
Michael Wehmeyer
distinguished professor and associate chair in the department of special education and director of the Beach Center on Disability
University of Kansas
Wehmeyer is available to discuss the Supreme Court's Endrew F v. Douglas County School District ruling, special education, the rulings ramifications and more. Says Wehmeyer: "At question before the court was what constituted an 'appropriate' education for students receiving special education. A 1982 Supreme Court ruling (Rowley) had set the standard that the student's education program must be one from which the student must be reasonably expected to benefit. In rulings leading up to the Endrew F v. Douglas County School District decision, lower courts had ruled that, according to Rowley, the school district in this case had only to provide the child an education that was calculated to confer an educational benefit that was 'merely more than de minimus.' In its ruling today, the Supreme Court has, in essence, confirmed that the educational programs of children receiving special education must enable students to make meaningful progress appropriate to the child's circumstances."
Contact: Mike Krings, mkrings@ku.edu

Zika and Travel Safety
Dr. Myles Druckman
SVP/Medical Director
International SOS
"It's important that companies understand how Zika and other evolving heath threats impact their staff that are stationed or traveling abroad," asserts Dr. Druckman, a leading expert in pandemic preparedness. "Zika-affected locations are expanding, especially in the 102 countries where the CDC has added or modified travel restrictions, and employees and their families should be aware of what the recommendations and restrictions are, and take them seriously."
Dr. Druckman is a World Economic Forum "Global Leader of Tomorrow," member of TED, and board member of WaterAid. His extensive international healthcare experience includes the development of western medical facilities in Beijing, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kiev. He also has experience consulting to major fortune 500 companies, and managing global emergencies.
Website: www.internationalsos.com
Contact: Teresa Delaney, teresa@dndpr.com

Comment on New Controversial Dinosaur Research at University of Cambridge
Michael D'Emic, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Biology Department
Adelphi University, Garden City, N.Y.
"The new study, if confirmed, has far-reaching implications concerning the origin of dinosaurs. However, that's currently a big 'if'; although the study has passed through peer review, it has not been vetted by the paleontological community as a whole. Unorthodox hypotheses like this attract a lot of scrutiny, so I expect several papers re-analyzing and/or challenging this result in the coming months. This study represents a fresh starting point rather than the end in the debate about the roots of the dinosaur family tree."
D'Emic studies the evolution and ecology of dinosaurs and other reptiles. Each summer, he leads fieldwork expeditions to dig up dinosaurs and other extinct animals in the western U.S. He also studies how bones and teeth grow at the cellular level in a variety of animals. He teaches courses in Guided Research Dinosaur Histology and Human Anatomy and Physiology. Dr. D'Emic is no stranger to discoveries. He recently made national news with a paper that put forth the theory that sauropods grew very quickly with little to no help from their parents. He has also published work strongly suggesting dinosaurs were warm-blooded, a point that has been debated for decades.
Website: http://www.adelphi.edu
Contact: Kali Chan, chan@adelphi.edu

MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/

• Markets Editor – OPIS
• Reporter – FundFire
• Senior Communications Strategist – Southern Poverty Law Center

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line.

• WHY PEOPLE ARE JERKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA – AND WHAT BRANDS CAN DO ABOUT IT. It's almost impossible to interact on social media without seeing nasty arguments or scathing comments between people who, in real life, are probably nice. So why do social networks often breed negativity? At a recent Social Media Week panel, Len Kendall and Nicole Rehling of Carrot – The VICE Digital Agency, explored the psychological causes of negative conversations on social media: http://prn.to/2o3cT0c
  

• CRACKING THE FACEBOOK CODE: HOW LITTLETHINGS CONQUERED THE WORLD'S BIGGEST SOCIAL NETWORK. In today's digital culture, Facebook success is something all publishers dream of. In a little more than two years, LittleThings has found what works. The brand has 10 million social followers and garners more than 280 million video views per month. And with 52.9 million uniques a month, it's also a top 100 comScore site, beating out the likes of Mashable, Mic, Upworthy and Refinery29. Here's how they do it: http://prn.to/2nkpsTL
  

• BLOG PROFILES: SCIENCE BLOGS. Each week, PR Newswire's Audience Relations team selects an industry/subject and looks at a handful of sites that do a good job with promoting and contributing to the topic. This week, the team looks at science blogs: http://prn.to/2opUAPy

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SOURCE ProfNet