Expert Commentary: Election Experts & Current Events Guide

HEALTH

Joel C. Cantor
State health care policy expert; can speak to health insurance generally, as well as the potential impact from COVID on individual and small business coverage in New Jersey.
Contact: Jenny Noonan, 848-932-6636, jnoonan@ifh.rutgers.edu

Nir Eyal
Bioethics expert; can speak to the ethics of accelerating vaccine testing for COVID through challenge trials.
Contact: Jenny Noonan, 848-932-6636, jnoonan@ifh.rutgers.edu

Stephen Crystal
Health services and policy expert; available to comment on the opioid crisis in general and in relation to COVID, as well as health services and policies needed going forward.
Contact: Jenny Noonan, 848-932-6636, jnoonan@ifh.rutgers.edu

XinQi Dong
Geriatrician and population health epidemiologist; available to comment on health equity, trauma and violence prevention, aging and eldercare as well as discrimination against Asian Americans and COVID testing accuracy.
Contact: Jenny Noonan, 848-932-6636, jnoonan@ifh.rutgers.edu

Donald W. Schaffner
Expert in microbial risk, cross-contamination and handwashing; can speak to COVID-19 risk generally as well as specific risks of various hygienic practices.
Contact: Don Schaffner, 732-407-7729, don.schaffner@rutgers.edu

Henry F. Raymond  
Epidemiologist; available to comment on coronavirus trends, rates, surveillance, and sampling methods. Associate Director for Public Health of the Center for COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness. 
Contact: Michelle Edelstein, 732-427-6232, mse46@sph.rutgers.edu

Perry N. Halkitis
Biostatistician, public health psychologist, and LGBTQ+ health expert; available to comment on coronavirus testing and tracing, LGBTQ+ population health, health disparities, HIV/AIDs and other infectious diseases, and drug abuse and mental health. Dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health. 
Contact: Michelle Edelstein, 732-427-6232, mse46@sph.rutgers.edu

Martin Blaser
Medical expert who can speak to the latest science on the coronavirus. Director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine.
Contact: Patti Verbanas, 848-932-0551, patti.verbanas@rutgers.edu

Richard Marlink
Global health leader, medical oncologist and expert on HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and Africa; available to comment on equitable recovery from COVID-19 in minority communities, impacts of denial and stigma on the COVID-19 pandemic, lessons from the HIV/AIDS pandemic response in the U.S. and globally, infectious disease epidemics and health care systems in developing countries. Director of Rutgers Global Health Institute.
Contact: Lara De Meo Hoyt, 848-932-5827, lhoyt@globalhealth.rutgers.edu

ECONOMIC TRENDS

James W. Hughes
Expert on the economy, demographics, housing markets and real estate development; can speak to economic trends as they relate to the COVID-19 recession, as well as the presidential candidate’s jobs and economic plans.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907 megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

INCOME INEQUALITY

Bill Rodgers
Expert on labor economics and the economics of social problems; can speak to the U.S. unemployment rate, racial inequality, the recession's impact on Black Americans, and the current job loss and economic recovery of Americans. Chief economist at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development and former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907 megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

Nancy DiTomaso
Expert on diversity, culture and inequality in relation to management and global business.
Contact: Susan Todd, 973-353-5224, stodd@business.rutgers.edu

Yana Rodgers
Expert on pay equity, relationship between women’s economic empowerment and access to reproductive health services. Director of the Rutgers Center for Women and Work.
Contact: Steve Flamisch, 848-252-9011, steve.flamisch@rutgers.edu

FINANCIAL MARKETS

Eugene White
Expert on financial markets, stock market and other booms and busts, regulation of the financial industry, monetary and financial history.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907, megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

JOBS

Farrokh Langdana
Expert on monetary and fiscal theory, international trade and global macroeconomic policy.
Contact: Susan Todd, 973-353-5224 , stodd@business.rutgers.edu

Janice Fine
Expert on federal immigration policy and immigrant labor, low wage work, unions and new forms of worker organization, and government enforcement of minimum wage and other employment laws.
Contact: Steve Flamisch, 848-252-9011, steve.flamisch@rutgers.edu

Michael Merrill
Expert on U.S. politics, class conflict and the labor movement, including its continuing campaigns for good jobs and higher wages.
Contact: Steve Flamisch, 848-252-9011, steve.flamisch@rutgers.edu

Rebecca Kolins Givan
Expert on strikes, labor unions and their changing relationships with political candidates.
Contact: Steve Flamisch, 848-252-9011, steve.flamisch@rutgers.edu

TAXES

Jay Soled
Expert on taxes, including how government defines taxable income, allowable exemptions and permissible deductions.
Contact: Susan Todd, 973-353-5224, stodd@business.rutgers.edu

Rosanne Altshuler
Expert in federal tax policy and economics.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907, megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

TRADE

Farok Contractor
Expert in international business and management.
Contact: Susan Todd, 973-353-5224, stodd@business.rutgers.edu

Thomas Prusa
Expert in economics, international trade and international trade policy.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907, megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

AMERICAN POLITICS

Ross Baker
Expert in American government, U.S. legislative politics, congressional issues and the presidency.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907, megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

David Greenberg
Expert on American political and cultural history, including the presidency, campaigns and elections, political parties, political ideas, public policy and a contributing editor to Politico. Professor of history and of Journalism & Media Studies.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907, megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

John J. Farmer, Jr.
Expert on American politics, redistricting, law, national security and community protection for vulnerable populations. Director of Rutgers’ Eagleton Institute of Politics and Rutgers’ Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience.
Contact: Gabriella L. Morrone, 848-932-8809, gmorrone@eagleton.rutgers.edu

John Weingart
Expert on American politics, government and campaigns, specifically how campaign milestones may affect election outcomes. Associate Director of Rutgers’ Eagleton Institute of Politics and Director of the Eagleton Center on the American Governor.
Contact: Gabriella L. Morrone, 848-932-8809, gmorrone@eagleton.rutgers.edu

DECISION-MAKING

Richard Lau
Expert on political decision-making, the different strategies voters use to choose a candidate and the effect of the media on political campaigns. Chair of the Rutgers political science department and author of How Voters Decide: Information Processing During Election Campaigns.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907 megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

ETHICS

Rebecca Greenbaum
Expert on behavioral ethics, abusive and dysfunctional leadership and unethical leadership.
Contact: Steve Flamisch, 848-252-9011, steve.flamisch@rutgers.edu

LATINO VOTE

Lilia Fernandez
Expert on history of Latin American migration to the U.S., labor migration, and Latino urban issues.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907, megan.schumann@rutgers.edu 

MISINFORMATION

Britt Paris
Paris tracks misinformation campaigns; can speak to dangers of misinformation, how it may influence political action, and what to look for.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907, megan.schumann@rutgers.edu 

POLLING

Ashley Koning
Expert on American public opinion, survey design, polling trends and mass political behavior. Director of Rutgers’ Eagleton Center for Public Polling and Eagleton assistant research professor.
Contact: Gabriella L. Morrone, 848-932-8809, gmorrone@eagleton.rutgers.edu

VOTER ACCESS AND YOUTH VOTE

Elizabeth Matto
Expert on youth political participation, youth voter turnout, young candidates running for office and youth voter mobilization. Director of Rutgers’ Center for Youth Political Participation at the Eagleton Institute of Politics.
Contact: Gabriella L. Morrone, 848-932-8809, gmorrone@eagleton.rutgers.edu

Lisa Schur
Expert on disability voting, polling place accessibility and the political engagement of people with disabilities.
Contact: Steve Flamisch, 848-252-9011, steve.flamisch@rutgers.edu

Mark Beal
Expert on Generation Z and how they are transforming media, marketing, the workplace, pop culture, and society; can speak to reaching Gen Z during the election and the youth vote. Author of Engaging Gen Z and Decoding Gen Z.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907, megan.schumann@rutgers.edu 

U.S.-Russia Relations

David Foglesong
Expert in U.S. foreign policy, American-Russian relations, missionaries, propaganda, military occupations, national identity; can speak to American-Russian relations in the era of Vladimir Putin, President George W. Bush, President Obama, and President Trump.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907 megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

ABORTION

Cynthia Daniels
Expert on reproductive policy and law, with specializations in abortion politics, criminalization of pregnancy, fetal rights and constitutional rights.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907, megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

Johanna Schoen
Expert on the history of women and medicine, reproductive rights and abortion; can also speak to end-of-life care and the impact of deaths related to COVID.
Contact: Jenny Noonan, 848-932-6636, jnoonan@ifh.rutgers.edu

Kristyn Brandi
Expert on women’s reproductive rights, reproductive health, and access to abortion healthcare.
Contact: Modesta Alobawone, 848-445-1913, ma1684@echo.rutgers.edu  

Leslie Kantor
Expert on sexual and reproductive health, women’s health, abortion, and access to care. 
Contact: Michelle Edelstein, 732-427-6232, mse46@sph.rutgers.edu

Yana Rodgers
Expert on pay equity for women and the relationship between women’s economic empowerment and their access to reproductive health services, including abortion.
Contact: Steve Flamisch, 848-252-9011, steve.flamisch@rutgers.edu

DRUG PRICES

Gary Branning
Expert on drug pricing, regulatory impacts on drug development, and clinical trials.
Contact: Susan Todd, 973-353-5224, stodd@business.rutgers.edu

HEALTHCARE COVERAGE

Michael Gusmano
Expert in health politics and policy, implementation of the Affordable Care Act, proposals for universal coverage, and health systems in the United States and other countries.
Contact: Michelle Edelstein, 732-427-6232, mse46@sph.rutgers.edu

Joel C. Cantor
State health care policy expert; can speak to health insurance generally, as well as the potential impact from COVID on individual and small business coverage in New Jersey.
Contact: Jenny Noonan, 848-932-6636, jnoonan@ifh.rutgers.edu

OPIOID CRISIS

Frank Ghinassi
Expert on behavioral health and addiction perspectives on the statewide effort to address the opioid epidemic, and responses to the epidemic across clinical service, training, research and community partners.
Contact: Patti Verbanas, 848-932-0551, patti.verbanas@rutgers.edu

Itzhak Yanovitzky
Expert on health communication, media campaigns and other community-based interventions to address opioid addiction.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907, megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

Jamey Lister
Expert on medication treatment for opioid use disorder, overdose-related death, minority health, and barriers to treatment among low-income urban and rural communities in New Jersey and the United States.
Contact: Jamey Lister, 848-932-8058, jlister@ssw.rutgers.edu or Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907, megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

Lewis S. Nelson
Expert in emergency medicine, medical toxicology, addiction medicine and prescription drug misuse.
Contact: Modesta Alobawone, 848-445-1913, ma1684@echo.rutgers.edu  

Petros Levounis
Expert on mental health, addiction medicine, substance use disorders, behavioral addictions, and co-occurring psychiatric disorders.
Contact: Modesta Alobawone, 848-445-1913, ma1684@echo.rutgers.edu  

Stephen Crystal
Health services and policy expert; available to comment on the opioid crisis in general and in relation to COVID, as well as health services and policies needed going forward.
Contact: Jenny Noonan, 848-932-6636, jnoonan@ifh.rutgers.edu

Perry Halkitis
Biostatistician, public health psychologist, and LGBTQ+ health expert; available to comment on coronavirus testing and tracing, LGBTQ+ population health, health disparities, HIV/AIDs and other infectious diseases, and drug abuse and mental health. Dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health. 
Contact: Michelle Edelstein, 732-427-6232, mse46@sph.rutgers.edu

GREEN NEW DEAL

Robert Kopp
Expert on sea-level change, coastal climate adaptation and the economic risks of climate change. Director of the Rutgers Institute of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences.
Contact: Todd Bates, 848-932-0550, todd.bates@rutgers.edu

HISTORY

Donna Murch
Expert on mass incarceration and the war on drugs; can speak on the history of the Black Panther Party and other Black power, civil rights and social movements.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907 megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

LEADERSHIP

Brent Ruben
Expert on leadership practices and skills, communication, and core values; can speak to how national political and local leaders succeed in amassing large numbers of dedicated followers even in the absence of displaying the typical characteristics and competencies described as necessary and important by leadership experts.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907, megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

POLITICS AND MEDIA

Lauren Feldman
Expert on the effects of political media, news, and entertainment on public opinion and behavior, with expertise in media coverage of climate change, partisan media and political comedy. 
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907, megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

Louis Benjamin Rolsky
Expert in the relationships between religion, progressive politics, mass media and popular culture in post-World War II America. 
Contact: Neal Buccino, 732-668-8439, neal.buccino@rutgers.edu

Brittany Friedman
Expert on prisons, incarceration, and Black protest; can speak to racism in corrections and prisons, Black protest against the criminal justice system, and monetary sanctions.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907, megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

Erica Armstrong Dunbar
Expert in American slavery, emancipation studies, and the intersection of race and gender in American history.
Contact: Megan Schumann, 848-445-1907, megan.schumann@rutgers.edu

Derrick Darby
Expert on social justice; can speak on voting rights, racial inequality, reparations, K-12 achievement gap, and politics of hip hop. Founding director of the Rutgers Social Justice Solutions Research Collaboratory.
Contact: Neal Buccino, 732-668-8439, neal.buccino@rutgers.edu