2020 HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS & BENEFIT GALA

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 AT 8PM EDT

A VIRTUAL EVENT

WELCOME! Thank you for joining us for this year’s virtual event as we celebrate our honorees and come together as a global community.

Every year, the WOLA Human Rights Awards honor organizations or individuals who have worked tirelessly to promote human rights, democracy, and justice in Latin America. Our awardees are organizations or individuals who exemplify a commitment to the values and vision we share for the future, where human rights and social justice are the foundation for public policy. And this year’s honorees are no exception. They are extraordinary advocates and have worked relentlessly to protect the rights and dignity of migrants and asylum seekers, especially at a time when there are monumental threats to human rights in the Americas.

Thank you for joining us this evening to celebrate the commitment and courage of our awardees. We hope you enjoy our full program this evening! THE EVENING’S PROGRAM

INTRODUCTION Geoff Thale President, Washington Office on Latin America

WELCOME FROM GALA CO-CHAIR & EMCEE Alfredo Corchado Mexico Border Correspondent, Author of Homelands

FEATURED SPEAKER Ben Rhodes Former Deputy National Security Advisor to President Obama

2020 WOLA HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD HONOREE Fray Matías de Córdova Human Rights Center Presented by Maria Hinojosa, President & Founder, The Futuro Media Group

2020 WOLA HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD HONOREE Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (D-TX) Presented by Congresswoman Norma Torres (D-CA)

MUSICAL PERFORMANCE Arturo O’Farrill Musician and Founder of the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance

CLOSING REMARKS Geoff Thale

HOW TO GIVE Join the WOLA community in standing up for human rights by making a gift this evening

You can give: Online at www.wola.org/galadonate Text “WOLA20 Amount Name” to 41444 For example: WOLA20 250 Geoff Thale

Thank you for standing with WOLA! HOSTS & COMMITTEES

CO-CHAIRS Alfredo Corchado Judy and Peter Blum Kovler Foundation

HOST COMMITTEE Nancy Belden Marlene Johnson Rep. David Bonior Edgar James & Katherine Kinsella Joe Eldridge & Maria Otero Cynthia McClintock Louis & Nancy Goodman Cheryl Morden & Reuben Snipper Sandra Grossman Joy & Eric Olson Lynne Horning

HONORARY COMMITTEE Sen. Sherrod Brown Speaker Nancy Pelosi Rep. Juan Vargas Sen. Ben Cardin Rep. Earl Blumenauer Rep. Hank Johnson Sen. Dianne Feinstein Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy, III Sen. Tim Kaine Rep. Eliot L. Engel Rep. Barbara Lee Sen. Patrick Leahy Rep. Tom Emmer Rep. Alan Lowenthal Sen. Jeff Merkley Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva Rep. Betty McCollum Sen. Chris Murphy Rep. Deb Haaland Rep. James P. McGovern Sen. Chris Van Hollen Rep. Jim Himes Rep. Debbie Wasserman Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard Schultz Rep. Scott Peters Rep. Jan Schakowsky Rep. David E. Price Rep. Mark Takano 2020 WOLA HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS HONOREES

FRAY MATÍAS DE CÓRDOVA HUMAN RIGHTS CENTER (TAPACHULA, CHIAPAS MEXICO)

For their commitment to supporting, protecting, and defending migrants, asylum applicants, refugees and their families on the Mexico-Guatemala border.

The Fray Matías de Córdova Human Rights Center, based in Tapachula, Chiapas, will be honored for its work to support and protect migrants and asylum seekers at Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala. The center’s advocacy has included exposing conditions in Mexico’s largest migrant detention center, and urging support for public policies that provide humane treatment of migrants and asylum seekers, based on humanitarian principles. These efforts are especially critical given recent record levels of asylum applications in Mexico, continuing reports of inhumane conditions in Mexico’s immigrant detention centers, and the problematic deployment of Mexico’s National Guard to its southern border with Guatemala in an immigration enforcement capacity.

CONGRESSWOMAN VERONICA ESCOBAR (D-TX)

For her leadership in restoring the human rights of asylum seekers at a time when the treatment of this population is anything but humane and dignified.

Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (D-TX), who represents the border city of El Paso, will be recognized for her advocacy to protect and defend migrants, asylum applicants, refugees, and their families, at a time when the Trump administration’s treatment of these populations is anything but humane or dignified. A long-time advocate for human rights at the U.S.-Mexico border, she led protests against the policy of family separation and is a strong opponent of efforts to build a border wall. In her first term in Congress, Escobar has become a powerful national voice countering the demonization of immigrants, and passed legislation for greater oversight of border enforcement agencies, including the Homeland Security Improvement Act. She also introduced the Asylum Seeker Protection Act, a challenge to the “Remain in Mexico” policy that has forced thousands of asylum seekers to wait in dangerous conditions in Mexican border towns. FEATURED GUESTS

ALFREDO CORCHADO

Alfredo Corchado is the Mexico Border correspondent for the Dallas Morning News and author of Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter’s Journey Through a Country’s Descent into Darkness. Born in Durango, Mexico, he was raised in California and Texas. He worked the fields of California’s San Joaquin Valley alongside his parents who were members of the United Farm Workers union led by Cesar Chavez. Corchado began his career in journalism at the El Paso Herald-Post, before working for the Wall Street Journal in 1987. He is a 2009 Nieman at Harvard and also a fellow at Woodrow Wilson, Rockefeller, Lannan, USMEX and IOP. He is a recipient of the Maria Moors Cabot Prize from Columbia University in 2007.

In 2009, he received the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award for Courage in Journalism from Colby College. He has reported on the reach of Mexican drug cartels into the United States, the plight of Mexican and Central American immigrants in the U.S. and government corruption on both sides of the border and debate about immigration. The former director of the Borderlands Program at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University, Corchado was also inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters in 2018. He was named 2020 Justice Media Trailblazer by John Jay College and Texas’ Star Reporter of Year.

ARTURO O’FARRILL

Arturo O’Farrill, pianist, composer, and educator, was born in Mexico and grew up in New York City. In 2007, he founded the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the performance, education, and preservation of Afro Latin music. In December 2010 Arturo traveled with the original Chico O’Farrill Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra to Cuba, returning his father’s musicians to his homeland. He continues to travel to Cuba regularly as an informal Cultural Ambassador, working with Cuban musicians, dancers, and students, bringing local musicians from Cuba to the US and American musicians to Cuba. Arturo has performed with orchestras and bands including his own Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and Arturo O’Farrill Sextet, as well as other Orchestras and intimate ensembles in the US, Europe, Russia, Australia, and South America. Arturo is Professor of Global Jazz Studies and Assistant Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and has been honored as a Steinway Artist for many years. FEATURED GUESTS

BEN RHODES

Ben Rhodes is the author of the New York Times bestseller The World As It Is; a contributor for NBC News, MSNBC, and Crooked Media; the co-chair of National Security Action; and an advisor to former President Barack Obama. From 2009-2017, Ben served as a Deputy National Security Advisor to President Obama. In that capacity, he participated in nearly all of President Obama’s key decisions, and oversaw the President’s national security communications, speechwriting, public diplomacy and global engagement programming. He also led the secret negotiations with the Cuban government that resulted in the effort to normalize relations between the United States and Cuba, and supported the negotiations to conclude the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran. Prior to joining the Administration, Ben was a senior speechwriter and foreign policy advisor to the Obama campaign. From 2002-2007, he worked for former Congressman Lee Hamilton, supporting his work on the 9/11 Commission and Iraq Study Group. A native New Yorker, Ben has a B.A. from Rice University and an M.F.A from New York University.

GEOFF THALE

Geoff Thale is President of the Washington Office on Latin America, (WOLA), whose 27 person staff conduct research and advocacy to advance human rights and social justice in the Americas. He leads the organization and supports its program, communications, fundraising and administrative staff.

Prior to assuming the Presidency in the fall of 2019, Thale was WOLA’s Vice-President of Programs for 14 years, working with senior staff on advocacy strategies and program development issues ranging from Mexico to Bolivia. A long-time activist, he came to WOLA in 1995 to work on Central America issues. He founded WOLA’s Cuba program, supporting normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba, and facilitating dialogue between Cuban society and counterparts in the United States.

He travels regularly to the region, and has taken multiple congressional delegations to Cuba and Central America. He has published widely. testified repeatedly before Congress, and worked closely with academics, government officials and civil society groups both in the U.S. and the region. Prior to joining WOLA, he was the founder and Executive Director of the El Salvador Policy Project in Washington, DC. He holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Relations from the University of Wisconsin. SUPPORT WOLA'S WORK

Stand with WOLA in the essential fight to protect human rights—on both sides of the border. Your donation tonight will support WOLA's work, including our Beyond the Wall campaign which is pushing for a border and migration policy that:

Implements effective border governance policy that respects human rights. This requires recognizing that walls are not a solution and keeping U.S. border security agencies like Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) out of migrant processing and the asylum process.

Fixes the badly broken asylum system in the United States. This requires ending policies that place migrants in danger, getting serious about effective alternatives to detention, and ensuring migrants receive due process in immigration court.

Works with Mexico to ensure the rights and safety of migrants and asylum seekers. Ensuring the safety of migrants and asylum seekers as they transit through—or choose to stay—in Mexico means: working with the Mexican government to strengthen its small and underfunded asylum system; and supporting the removal of the Mexican National Guard from border enforcement activities.

Partners with Central American countries to address root causes of migration. This requires significantly expanding critical aid and working with Central American governments to strengthen anti-impunity, rule of law, and governance reforms. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) SUPPORT WOLA'S WORK

HOW TO GIVE Join the WOLA community in standing up for human rights by making a gift this evening.

You can give: Online at www.wola.org/galadonate Text “WOLA20 Amount Name” to 41444 For example: WOLA20 250 Geoff Thale Use the included form and mail it with a check to: Washington Office on Latin America 1666 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20009

Thank you for standing with WOLA!

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Thank you to our generous sponsors for making tonight’s virtual WOLA Human Rights Awards & Benefit Gala possible. And, above all, thank you for your commitment to defending the dignity and human rights of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers along the border and across Latin America.

VISIONARY SPONSOR Judy & Peter Blum Kovler Foundation

LEADER SPONSORS Louis & Nancy Goodman ALLY SPONSORS Lynne & Joseph Horning Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP Edgar James & Katherine Kinsella James Bass Marlene Johnson Juan & Jean Cappello Luminate Lutheran World Relief Cynthia McClintock Winston & Strawn LLP Western Union PARTNER SPONSORS ADVOCATE SPONSORS Bernard Aronson Thomas Belden & Janice Miller Steven Bennett & Erin Loubier Nancy Belden & John Russonello David & Judy Bonior Joe Eldridge & Maria Otero Catholic Relief Services Mary Ellsberg & Michael Levi Sandra Conant Grossman Young & Hammond, LLC Lucy Conger Peggy Healy John Dinges & Carolina Kenrick David Holiday Kathy Gille & Doug Tanner William LeoGrande & Marty Langelan Claudio Grossman & Irene Klinger Cheryl Morden & Reuben Snipper Al Kamen Richard Newfarmer & Margaret Sarles Vic Johnson Helena Ribe Linda Land Louise Simone Brian & Peggy Sassi Philippe Villers & Kate Villers Joy & Eric Olson Alex Wilde & Anne Pérotin-Dumon J. Ann Tickner “Supporting World Peace and Immigrants' Rights”

“Apoyando la Paz Mundial y los Derechos de los Inmigrantes”

Gabriel Sucher Rockville, Maryland WOLA STAFF

Geoff Thale Geoff Ramsey Gabriela Sibori President Director for Venezuela Communications Assistant

Lauren Kimball Lisette Alvarez Kristen Martinez-Gugerli Vice President for Director for Digital Strategy Program Assistant Development Cayla Spear Lizabelt Avila Mario Moreno Assistant Director for Human Development Assistant Vice President for Resources Communications Matthew Bocanumenth Austin Robles Program Assistant Maureen Meyer Assistant Director for Central Vice President for Programs America Julia Aikman Cifuentes and Director for Mexico and Program Assistant Migrant Rights Angela Melendez Assistant Director for Joe Eldridge Melissa Golladay Philanthropy Senior Fellow Vice President for Finance and Operations Alexandra Konicki Coletta Youngers Assistant Director for Senior Fellow Adriana Beltrán Partnerships Director for Citizen Security Kathy Gille Kimberly Durón Senior Fellow Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli Assistant Director for Content Director for the Andes Production Jo-Marie Burt Senior Fellow Adam Isacson Kara Hernández Director for Defense Oversight Executive Assistant and Board David Smilde Liaison Senior Fellow Marguerite Rose Jiménez Director for Special Initiatives Peter Ballou Elizabeth Leeds Operations Assistant Senior Fellow John Walsh Director for Drug Policy and Moses Ngong William LeoGrande the Andes Program Assistant Senior Fellow

Thelma Aldana Senior Fellow WOLA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Nancy Belden John Dinges Chair of the Board Secretary of the Board

Marlene Johnson Steven Bennett Vice Chair of the Board Treasurer of the Board

Cheryl Morden Peggy Healy

Dr. Claudia Paz y Paz Sally O'Neill In memoriam Dr. Cynthia McClintock Sandra Grossman Dr. Helena Ribe Juan Carlos Cappello Juan Gonzalez Dr. Mary Ellsberg Geoff Thale President, WOLA Mauricio Silva

Mariano Aguirre Ramón E. Daubón

Patricia Weiss Fagen Lucy Conger

Macarena Saez Matt Balitsaris

WOLA WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND ITS GRATITUDE TO: Charlie Roberts Greater Good Strategy Power Up Video and Virtual Events Daniela Chaparro WOLA staff, fellows and interns WOLA Board of Directors 2020 Gala Host Committee