The Junction with Lisette Nieves

Janai Nelson is President and Director-Counsel of the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), the nation’s premier civil rights law organization. Throughout her legal career, she has played a pivotal role in numerous landmark legal cases. Most recently, she argued Louisiana v. Callais before the Supreme Court. The voting rights case aims to secure equitable Congressional representation for Black voters in Louisiana, and defend the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Before joining LDF, she was also a full professor at St. John’s University School of Law. Learn more about Lisette! Lisette-Nieves.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kelly Lytle Hernández is theChair in History and African American Studies and directs the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA. For her historical and contemporary work, in 2029 Kelly was selected as a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow. She is also an elected member of the Society of American Historians, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Pulitzer Prizes Board. One of the nation’s leading experts on race, immigration, and mass incarceration, she is the author of multiple award-winning books, including Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands. She is the founding director of the Million Dollar Hoods research initiative, which maps fiscal and human cost of mass incarceration in Los Angeles. Learn more about Lisette! Lisette-Nieves.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Heather McGhee is a bestselling author, nonprofit executive, public intellectual, and political strategist. She is a former president and currently a trustee emeritus of Demos, a progressive U.S. think tank. In 2021, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together debuted at #3 on the New York Times best seller list and stayed there for 10 weeks. In it Heather argues that white Americans "have been steeped in the notion of 'zero sum' — that any gains by another group must come at white people's expense." She’s a regular contributor to NBC News and frequent guest on current events shows like Meet the Press and Real Time with Bill Maher. Learn more about Lisette! Lisette-Nieves.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Maria Hinojosa is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and founder of Futuro Media Group, which covers untold stories about underrepresented communities. A four-time Emmy Award winner, Maria is the host and executive producer of Latino USA and the political podcast In The Thick.  In 2022 she and Futuro won the  Pulitzer Prize in Audio Reporting for the podcast Suave. It tells the story of David Luis "Suave" Gonzalez, who was sentenced to life without parole at 17, and his journey toward unexpected freedom after 30+ years in prison. The 7-part series touches on themes of incarceration, redemption, and the relationship between a journalist and her source. Learn more about Lisette! Lisette-Nieves.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tony Marx has run The New York Public Library, the country’s largest public library system, for fifteen years. Prior to that he was president of Amherst College and worked in anti-apartheid efforts in South Africa in the 90s. His long career has been characterized by his ardent belief in access. At NYPL he removed late fines after discovering that the NYPL had disenfranchised thousands of patrons of color with. He also pressured book publishers to integrate libraries into their e-books distribution, and led the creation of an NYPL e-reader app (the software was open-source so other library systems could create their own apps). In 2022, NYPL launched “Books For All” in response to book bans around the country. Learn more about Lisette! Lisette-Nieves.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

John B. King Jr. is the Chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY), the nation's largest public higher education system. Previously, he served as the 10th U.S. Secretary of Education under President Obama, and as the President of The Education Trust, a nonprofit focusing on equity in education. His trailblazing career also includes serving as NY State Education Commissioner, the first African American and Puerto Rican in the role. He comes from a home where learning was valued, both his parents were public school educators in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more about Lisette! Lisette-Nieves.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Xochitl Gonzalez is the New York Times bestselling author of the award-winning novels Olga Dies Dreaming, Anita de Monte Laughs Last, and the highly anticipated Last Night in Brooklyn (out April 2026). She is a contributor to The Atlantic, where she was recognized as a 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist in Commentary. A native Brooklynite and proud public school graduate, Gonzalez holds a BA from Brown University and an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. “Last Night in Brooklyn” explores the lives of residents in a rapidly changing Brooklyn, specifically focusing on the "dark compromise of the American Dream," and the cost of gentrification in the early 2000s. Described as “a love letter to a place on the verge of great change,” it features a young woman finding her own path to independence. Learn more about Lisette! Lisette-Nieves.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Cheryl Wills is an institution in New York City and national news, with 30+ years in network television. She has deepened our understanding of the role Black Americans played in building and protecting our country with her book series on her family’s transition from slavery to freedom ("Die Free: A Heroic Family Tale," "The Emancipation of Grandpa Sandy Wills," "Emancipated: My Family’s Fight for Freedom," and "EMMA.")  Learn more about Lisette! Lisette-Nieves.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Gisele Castro has always been a leader with a purpose much bigger than the impactful organization she helped found and now leads, exalt, where she and her team transform young people’s lives through education, employment opportunities and criminal justice reform. Her work ensuring equity in justice for court-involved youth is remarkable, and now she’s poised to replicate the exalt model nationally. What’s more, her personal story reveals why she was able to rise to meet this moment. Gisele has a Doctorate of Education, in Leadership and Innovation, from NYU’s Steinhardt School, holds a Master’s of Public Administration in non-profit management, and studied at the graduate level at Oxford University, where she researched U.S. and U.K. juvenile justice systems. Learn more about Lisette! Lisette-Nieves.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kandy G Lopez is a multidisciplinary portrait artist exploring cultural identity, representation, and power through fiber, painting, glass, and mixed media. Born to Dominican parents, she draws from her experience navigating multiple cultural landscapes. Kandy holds a BFA in Painting and a BS in Marketing/Management from the University of South Florida and earned her MFA in Painting from Florida Atlantic University. Her background in both fine arts and business informs her meticulous material investigations and strategic engagement with art institutions. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and Arts at Nova Southeastern University, where she integrates critical theory with hands-on material practice. Learn more about Lisette! Lisette-Nieves.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

At The Junction, we reflect on the moments that make us — with today's most impactful leaders. The show is created and hosted by Lisette Nieves and produced by LWC Studios. For more, visit Lisette-Nieves.com Learn more about Lisette! Lisette-Nieves.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.