On Social Media Influence, Political Violence and Female Political Activism Featuring April Reign, Dr. Garen Wintemute and Ianta Summers
In this episode, the legendary April Reign explains how African American social media influencers, like herself, can impact future political campaigns. Next, Dr. Garen Wintemute, Director of the UC-Davis Violence Prevention Research Program, discusses the rise of political violence in America. Finally, Ianta Summers, Principal at Summers Public Affairs, talks about female political activism. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/erik-fleming1/support
Ianta Summers
CEO, Summers Public Affairs
Ianta Summers is noted Public Affairs Strategist and Washington insider for over twenty years. She has
advised Mayors, Members of Congress, as well as C-Suite Executives and is recognized as a leader in
today’s uncertain times. She cut her teeth in her career in politics at the private lobbying firm of Van
Scoyoc Associates where she gained valuable skills in federal advocacy, coalition and relationship
building. From there she served four years as a legislative staffer on the Coast Guard and Maritime
Transportation Subcommittee under the guidance of The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings and
Committee Chair James Oberstar. During her time on the hill she developed a niche for Maritime
Transportation. While a staffer, she passed the 2010 Coast Guard Reauthorization Act, presided over
the investigation of the 2009 Deepwater Horizon Spill as well as conducted over 25 hearings on the
Subcommittee during her time on the hill.
In 2017, Ms. Summers helped to organize the Women’s March on Washington, the largest protest in
American history that spanned a total of 5 million protesters worldwide. She and her team were named
the 2017 Glamour Women of the Year and later organized the 2017 Women’s Convention in Detroit
where over 5,000 first time grassroots organizers gathered for two full days of plenaries, break out
sessions, keynote speakers and celebrity entertainers. In 2020, she served as an associate producer on the
Biden Harris campaign paid media team, where she helped produce targeted commercials and art
installations for the camp…
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April Reign
April Reign practiced law for nearly twenty years, honing her talent for public speaking, persuasive writing and effecting policy change, but it wasn’t until she walked away from her legal practice that she found her true passion. As the creator of the viral hashtag-turned-movement, #OscarsSoWhite , April has been challenging the lack of representation of marginalized communities in Hollywood and beyond since 2015. Reign sustains a movement that has resulted in the most permanent systemic change ever seen in the over 80-year history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her name continues to be synonymous with this historic change, the results of which are reverberating throughout the entertainment industry and will do so for decades to come. She has now partnered with Overture Global, a New York-based media company, to launch Ensemble, a digital content studio to accelerate opportunities around content and development in front of and behind the camera for people of color. Reign is also part of the founding cohort for She Will Rise , a grassroots campaign to support the nomination and confirmation of the first Black Woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. Reign is an influential and sought-after media presence, having built an impressive global organic social media following over several platforms, as well as a network of recognized celebrities, creators, activists, and decision makers at the corporate level. Reign capitalizes on this network and her experience, using her voice to spark conversations and explore issues of race, politics and culture, helping st… Read More
Dr. Garen Wintemute
Dr. Wintemute is Distinguished Professor of Emergency Medicine and Baker–Teret Chair in Violence Prevention at the University of California, Davis. He is the founding director of the Violence Prevention Research Program there and of the California Firearm Violence Research Center, the nation’s first publicly funded center for research in this field. He practices and teaches emergency medicine at UC Davis Medical Center. Trained initially as a biologist at Yale University, Dr. Wintemute attended medical school and residency at UC Davis and studied epidemiology and injury prevention at The Johns Hopkins University.
