Tuesday, April 26, 2011

New High-Profile Contributors Join WCI

by Women in Crime Ink
 
We’re sure our readers have noticed over the last couple of months that our posts have been three days a week instead of five. Trust us,; we were just as bummed as you were, but the spring book and deadline season has been upon us and we've all been swamped. The good news is that beginning in May, we're going back to our five-day-a-week posts. We're also extremely excited to announce that three new contributors have joined our ranks. Not just any regular bloggers, these powerhouse women should be familiar to you. Each one has appeared on many television networks and in print for their areas of expertise, including; ABC, NBC, CBS, "The Today Show," "Tyra," CNN, HLN, and Fox as well as The New York Times and People magazine, to name a few. Here they are:

Dr. Michelle Golland
Dr. Michelle Golland (pictured right) is in private practice as a clinical psychologist in Los Angeles, California, with a focus on issues relating to couples and individuals. She is also an expert in multi-cultural and community psychology issues. Dr. Golland is a national media psychologist and has appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live," "Campbell Brown" and "The O’Reilly Factor" on FOX News.


The media turns to Dr. Golland when they need an expert's opinion on the psychological issues related to anything in popular media. She is an expert and contributing writer on Momlogic.com, a popular website for mothers. Dr. Golland earned her doctorate with honors in clinical psychology in 1998 from the California School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles. She received her undergraduate degree from USC in 1993. Whether it's couples wanting a deeper connection, struggling with communication or issues of domestic violence, she has the insight, compassion and tenacity to help those in need.


Michelle views any challenge in our lives as a chance to expand our understanding of others and ourselves. The pain we experience today will only help us in the future if we listen to what that pain is trying to tell us. We must be willing to rise to life’s challenges and reach out to those who are willing to help us when we need personal clarity. We must ask ourselves what we are turning towards and what we are turning away from in our lives if we are to gain insight.The universe will keep sending us the messages of what we need to do and change in our lives but many of us are not willing to listen or simply don’t know how to listen.


Dr. Golland assists her clients in slowing down and listening to what the world is trying to tell us about our life and ourselves. She believes the key to personal growth and understanding comes from the ability to be vulnerable with ourselves and those closest to us. It is only through the opening of our heart and soul that we can truly heal our emotional pain and discover our amazing personal potential. Dr. Golland is currently working on two books. The first is her view on relationships titled The Marriage Matrix. Her second book is a memoir, The Glistening Web: A True Story of Living, Dying and Being.


Michelle Sigona
 
Michelle Sigona (pictured left) is a true-crime fighter extraordinaire. Over her career, Michelle has covered hundreds of breaking and historical news stories such as the tragedies of September 11, the anthrax attacks on our nation, the D.C. sniper murders, high-profile prison escapes, national missing children and adult cases from Stacy Peterson and Caylee Anthony, and the international search to find missing toddler Madeleine McCann. Michelle is not only an advocate for victims, but she works hard day and night to help keep America’s communities safe. Experts agree that Michelle is a trusted source for a variety of safety-related topics, including identity theft, Internet safety, child safety and domestic violence issues.

Crime is not the only thing Michelle battles. For more than a decade, Michelle has served her community as a volunteer firefighter—fighting fires and cutting people out of vehicles after serious accidents. She has also devoted many hours to keeping children drug-free as a guest speaker for her community's D.A.R.E. program, along with serving as a keynote and master of ceremonies for many high profile companies and non-profit organizations.

Michelle understands that devotion is the key to success, as she worked seven days a week, and often around the clock to achieve her dreams. Her journey began in 1999 as an intern for the prime-time network TV show, “America’s Most Wanted.” From the moment she stepped in the door, Michelle knew that one day she would be a national on-air correspondent making a difference in the lives of victims. After her internship, things really started gearing up.

She was not only offered a full-time position with AMW, but also a second position in the same building with the local FOX 5 WTTG affiliate in Washington, D.C. Michelle couldn’t turn down one or the other, so she did both, along with attending college courses full time, living in her sorority house, and volunteering any extra overnight hours at her fire department. As Michelle worked feverishly through both jobs at AMW and WTTG—on very little sleep—she made it her goal to learn every position in both news departments to include the assignment desk, field producing, writing for shows, segment producing, and traveling the country to work with victims of crime.


Michelle’s hard work and dedication paid off, landing an on-air reporting position in Baltimore, Maryland. It wasn’t long before Michelle was on the air in Washington, D.C. as the daily traffic-breaking news reporter for the morning show from the sky in a helicopter. She also completed many fire training courses through the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute. In March 2006, Michelle met one of her life-long goals of becoming a national on-air correspondent for "America’s Most Wanted," where she worked in front of the camera to help cases for many years.I t was her responsibility to work hand-in-hand with investigators across the globe to increase captures. Michelle's dedication to this role helped to propel the AMW hotline to new levels.


You can often see Michelle reporting live on national programs, including NBC TODAY show, NBC Nightly News, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, and "Inside Edition." Tune in as she takes you inside the cases in which she is personally involved with. Crime fighting is what she loves to do, and making a true difference in the lives of victims is a priority.


Holly Hughes

For the past decade, Holly Hughes (pictured right) has served as a senior assistant district attorney with the Fulton County District Attorney’s office in Atlanta, GA where she prosecuted some of the most high-profile cases in the United States, including working on the murder case against Ray Lewis, superstar with the Baltimore Ravens.

Holly was a triple threat prosecuting homicides, hate crimes and high-profile felony cases. Prior to making a name for herself as a tough big-city prosecutor, she also worked as an attorney specializing in discrimination and civil rights. Ms. Hughes has hosted the highly popular “Nancy Grace Show” on CNN Headline News Channel and continues to appear as a frequent guest on the program. She has also appeared on Court TV as a frequent commentator and legal analyst since 2003. Additionally, she appears regularly on Tru TV’s "In Session," HLN Prime News, as well as "The Levi Page Radio," "The Cop Doc Radio Show" and "The Susan Murphy Milano Show" as an expert in criminal law. With more than a hundred media appearances,


Holly has been qualified as an expert in high-profile litigation and criminal procedure with the Cold Case Research Institute of Georgia. She is also a frequent guest lecturer at local colleges and law schools. She has been honored in Madison Avenue’s Who’s Who of Young Professionals. After ten years with the DA’s Office, she is now in private practice in Atlanta, handling criminal defense and civil matters.

Please join us in welcoming these amazing women to Women in Crime Ink! Also starting in May, Women in Crime Ink is featuring its authors and their books, as well as lining up some exciting guest contributors.

2 comments:

Dr. Gina Simmons said...

Welcome Michelle G., Michelle S. and Holly! Honored to have you on our team!

Delilah said...

Great ladies, all of them! Looking forward to the views of the "new kids on the block!"