On the Web
FYI Listings: Ask the Expert
The following are individuals or organizations willing to provide free information to writers. While every attempt is made to ensure that FYI listings are purely informational and accurate, the WGAW does not endorse any of the following listings or the information they provide.
If you would like to list your services or update your contact information, or if you find a listing that is out-of-date, please email the Web Editor.
Government Agencies
Crime and Law
Inclusion and Community Engagement
Medicine
Religion
Psychology
More Experts
| Agency/Department | Contact |
| U.S. Air Force | (310) 235-7511 Air Force Entertainment Liaison Office airforcehollywood.af.mil |
| Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives | Cara Herman atf.gov |
| U.S. Coast Guard | (310) 235-7817 uscg.mil |
| U.S. Customs and Border Protection | Anne Sittmann CBP Public Affairs (202) 325-24905 Main: (619) 216-4182 cbp.gov |
| Diplomatic Security Service | Angela French Television, Motion Picture and Book Liaison DSS Headquarters, U.S. Department of State Office of Public Affairs (571) 242-3526 |
| Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) | Denise Ballew FBI Office of Public Affairs Long-form Team Contact form fbi.gov/portrayals |
| Department of Homeland Security ICE/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Secret Service Transportation Security Administration (TSA) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) |
Office of Multimedia, Motion Pictures and Television dhs.gov/entertainment-industry-contacts |
| L.A. County Office of Education | Paula Bridges Public Information Officer Public Affairs & Communications (562) 922-6725 |
| U.S. Navy | Public Affairs (310) 235-7481 |
| U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs | (310) 268-3340 va.gov |
| U.S. Department of State U.S. Foreign Policy and Counter Terrorism Global Outreach |
Rainy Young Director of the Office of Public Affairs |
| Expertise | Contact |
| Criminal Defense | James Blatt (310) 385-8066 jamesblatt.com |
| Criminal Defense – Federal | Robert M. Helfend (310) 456-3317 info@robertmhelfend.com robertmhelfend.com |
| Criminal Fraud Investigations, Fraud Schemes, Undercover Investigations and Civil Investigations | John Auvinen Consulting & Investigations CA PI License No. PI 25580 (707) 453-0178 |
| Criminal Investigation & Police Procedure | Detective Adam Richardson |
| Cyber Crime & Terrorism | Nicholas Wooldridge, Esq. LV Criminal Defense (702) 623-6362 lvcriminaldefense.com |
| FBI Investigations Homicide Cases Financial Crimes Illegal Gambling Rings |
Ryan Blanch (212) 736-3900 TheBlanchLawFirm.com |
| Insurance Fraud/White Collar Crime | Aaron Spolin Spolin Law Firm (310) 424-5816 spolinlaw.com |
| Medical Law | Melissa Neiman, M.D., J.D. Board Certified Neurosurgeon (832) 289-9610 mneiman.com |
| Personal Injury | Inna Demin (310)734-7974 injuryjusticeattorney.com |
| Personal Injury/Elder Law | Jason Neufeld (800) 379-8326 elderneedslaw.com neufeldlawfirm.com |
INCLUSION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
| Expertise | Contact |
| African American & Black Issues, Criminal Justice | Kristen Marston Color of Change Hollywood Culture & Entertainment Advocacy Director Hollywood.colorofchange.org |
| Chinese Culture | Samuel Chong (626) 487-8909 certifiedchinesetranslation.com |
| Deaf/Hard of Hearing | Maria Monte de Rey California Association of the Deaf (CAD) LA (818) 356-8215 bluebeach3@gmail.com |
| Disabilities (Disabled Writers) | David Radcliff Chair, WGAW Disabled Writers Committee radcliff.david@gmail.com |
| LGBTQ+ Issues | GLAAD/LA Communications Department (323) 933-2240 glaad.org |
| Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays |
(202) 467-8180 fax: (202) 467-8194 info@pflag.org |
| Social Justice | Storyline Partners Sanaz Alesafar Program Director storylinepartners.com |
| Expertise | Contact |
| Alzheimer's Disease | Alzheimer's Association (312) 335-4078 media@alz.org |
| Anesthesiologist (Surgical Services, Operating Room Management, and Perioperative Care) | Irving Ye (205) 370-8985 |
| Cancer | National Cancer Institute (NCI) (240) 760-6600 robertson8019@gmail.com |
| DNA and Genetics | Debra Robertson, Ph.D. (858) 792-8019 ncipressofficers@mail.nih.gov cancer.gov |
| Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, and General Medical/Health Care Topics | Michelle Shuffett, MD (310) 995-6075 mshuffett@me.com |
| Health, Safety and Security | Hollywood, Health & Society at the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center (323) 782-3311 usc.edu/hhs |
| Homebirth | Laura Shanley (303) 521-5848 laurashanley@comcast.net unassistedchildbirth.com |
| Lymphoma | Nichole Musumeci Lymphoma Research Foundation Director of Communications/Public Relations (212) 349-2910 ptorney@lymphoma.org (310) 204-7040 lrf@lymphoma.org |
| Medical Experts, Malpractice, Criminal and Civil Cases | Jane R. Leavy (954) 346-6591 mymedexpert@aol.com medexpertwitness.com |
| Neuroscience | Patrick Chen, Ph.D (949) 233-8691 pbc9@ucla.edu |
| Neurosurgery | Melissa Neiman, M.D., J.D. Board Certified Neurosurgeon (832) 289-9610 law@mneiman.com mneiman.com |
| Organ Donation and Transplantation | Tenaya Wallace Donate Life Hollywood (DLH) (310) 359-3631 tenaya@crowdadvocacy.net AccessDLH.org |
| Organ Tissue Donation and Transplantation | Elizabeth Flynn (310) 770-3842 flynnadv@att.net |
| Pediatrics, Primary Care and Minority Populations Health | April Khadijah Inniss, MD, MSc (857) 971-0915 aprilinniss@gmail.com |
| Public Health (Infectious Disease, Climate Change, Gun Violence, Homelessness) |
Carla Denly, Associate Dean for Marketing and Communications UCLA Fielding School of Public Health (310) 941-2879 cdenly@support.ucla.edu ph.ucla.edu |
PSYCHOLOGY
| Expertise | Contact |
| Addiction and Recovery | SMART Recovery Tom Horvath, Ph.D. (858) 546-1100 x222 tom.horvath@practicalrecovery.com smartrecovery.org |
| Bipolar Disorder | (415) 281-3100 healthline.com |
| Mental Health, Media Education, Parenting | Common Sense Media (310) 689-7535 commonsensemedia.org |
| Mental Health, Media Education | Mental Health Media Guide Katherine Pieper (213) 740-7213 aii@usc.edu mentalhealthmediaguide.com |
| Psychology (Mental Health Disorders, Personality, and Psychologists/Therapists) | Allison Otto, PsyD The Media Watch Committee Society for Media Psychology and Technology American Psychological Association (610) 513-2118 Allisonpsych@gmail.com |
RELIGION
| Expertise | Contact |
| Catholicism | Paulist Productions (310) 454-0688 assistant@paulistproductions.org paulistproductions.org |
| Judaism (Orthodox Judaism, Hasidic Judaism, Jewish culture or ritual) | Allison Josephs JITC Hollywood Bureau (201) 613-2070 Info@jewinthecity.com JewintheCity.com |
| Mormonism | Matt Ball LDS Church Public Affairs, West Coast (310) 475-7018 (800) 533-2444 (818) 388-9273 mball@lds.org publicaffairsla@aol.com |
| Muslims and Islam | Sue Obeidi Muslim Public Affairs Council's Hollywood Bureau Sue@mpac.org (323) 258-6722 mpac.org |
| Muslims and Islam | Imran Anwar imran@imran.com (646) 50-IMRAN or (646) 504-6726 http://imran.tv |
| Theological Accuracy | Paul Viggiano pastorpaul@branchofhope.org |
MORE EXPERTS
| Expertise | Contact |
| Animals & Production | Amer. Humane Assoc. Film & TV Unit “No Animals Were Harmed” (818) 501-0123 filmunit@americanhumane.org www.humanehollywood.org |
| Archaeology | (310) 206-8934 |
| Civic Leadership | The Civic Leadership Storylines Project civicleadershipstories.com |
| Climate Storytelling & Resources/Sustainable Film & TV Production | WGA/PGA Climate Storytelling Working Group Green Production Guide |
| Computers | (505) 913-9050 ssalemi@earthlink.net |
| Corporate Finance (Finance, Securities, Hedge Funds, Mergers & Acquisitions, Investment Banking, Private Equity, Venture Capital) | Frank Hajdu (917) 287-9035 frank.h.hajdu@gmail.com |
| Croquet | (503) 838-5697 eliassen@open.org |
| Gambling (Legal, Illegal, Bookmaking, Casinos, Cheating, Mob Influence) | Geno Munari (702) 236-4114 munari@msn.com |
| Gun Safety/Accurate Portrayals of Gun Violence | Noelle Howey Director Of Cultural Engagement, Everytown.org nhowey@everytown.org Everytown.org |
| Literacy | (916) 324-7358 |
| Science and Technology | The Science & Entertainment Exchange, a program of the National Academy of Sciences (844) NEED-SCI theexchange@nas.edu scienceandentertainmentexchange.org |
| Search & Rescue | Alice Stanley (540) 582-5708 storyspinr@aol.com |
| U.S. Navy & State Department | Leonard Hennessy (360) 840-8021 hennessylw@gmail.com |
| World War I (U.S.) | Dan Dayton U.S. World War I Centennial Commission daniel.dayton@worldwar1centennial.org ww1cc.org (202) 380-0725 |