Hoyas in Human Rights
The Human Rights Institute aims to create a powerhouse training academy for future human rights advocates. "Hoyas in Human Rights" highlights Georgetown Law alumni making a difference in the United States and around the world.
Brian Concannon (L’89) works as the executive director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), a U.S.-based NGO that creates pathways to justice and accountability for human rights violations in Haiti.
When confronting transnational corporations on global supply chain abuses, Charity Ryerson and her legal team at Corporate Accountability Lab (CAL) are the clear underdogs. Yet, that has only motivated them more to develop a broad and innovative spectrum of legal tools to protect people and the environment from corporate abuse.
As the Supervising Staff Attorney for Accountability at Human Rights First, Amanda Strayer (L'19) draws on her personal passion, her creative mindset, and her solid grounding of human rights law and practical lawyering skills learned at Georgetown to take on the perpetrators of horrific human rights abuses.
As Director of the Legal and Programs department of Human Rights Foundation (HRF), a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization that advances civil and political rights exclusively in authoritarian regimes, Michelle Gulino (L'18) is no stranger to bold campaigns for societal change.
Early in her career, Helki Spidle (L’05) fell into the job she was meant for. Helki works as the Deputy Chief of the Human Rights Violator Law Division (HRVLD) which provides counsel to the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC), the U.S. government’s interagency center dedicated to working on accountability for human rights abuses, as well as the Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT).
Shaw Drake (L’15) did not always know he would work with migrants and refugees. But as a Senior Policy Counsel for the ACLU based in El Paso, TX, he is part of a vibrant community of residents and NGOs making real change at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Whether she’s fighting for women’s sexual and reproductive rights or access to education, Beverly Mumbo (LL.M. ‘20) is a passionate and determined advocate for change.
Eric Tars is the Legal Director at the National Homelessness Law Center, where he oversees all programmatic work, litigation, training, outreach, and advocacy. Eric works in various program areas that address civil and human rights within housing policy, especially with a youth focus.