Use Your Power: Conference 2013 Confirmed Speakers

ANNA AAGENES

Anna Aagenes is the Executive Director of GO! Athletes, the first national LGBTQ support group for student-athletes. She is the former Team Captain at the University of Pennsylvania, Women’s Track and Field Team and former Co-Chair of PATH (Penn Athletes and Allies Tackling Heterosexism and Homophobia). She currently resides in Philadelphia and continues to advocate on behalf of LGBTQ youth.

ADOTEI AKWEI

Adotei Akwei is Managing Director for Government Relations for USA. Before rejoining AIUSA, Adotei was the Deputy Director for Government Relations, for CARE USA. As Deputy he worked on Climate Change, Emergencies, Countries in Conflict and Micro finance in sub Saharan Africa. Prior to taking this position he served as Regional Advocacy Advisor for CARE’s Asia Regional Management Unit, where he supported CARE country offices in the development and implementation of national level advocacy strategies, as well as helping develop and implement regional advocacy priorities. Before joining CARE, Mr. Akwei worked with Amnesty

International USA for 11 years, first as the senior Advocacy Director for Africa and then later as Director of Campaigns. Mr. Akwei also served as the Africa Director for the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, now Human Rights First, and as the Research and Human Rights Director for the American Committee on Africa and the Africa Fund. Mr. Akwei received his Masters in International Relations from the College of William and Mary and his Bachelors from the State University of New York College at Purchase. He is originally from Ghana.

LYDIA CACHO

Lydia Cacho is a Mexican journalist, author and a feminist activist against . In 2000 she founded and directs a high security shelter for battered and sexually exploited women and children in Cancun, . Ms. Cacho is the first woman in Mexican history that has taken to trial an organized crime ring of child pornography, sexual tourism and women's trafficking. She filed a successful counter-suit for corruption and for violation of her human rights. In this regard, Ms. Cacho is the first woman in Mexico who has ever filed a federal suit against a Governor, a District Attorney, and a judge for corruption and attempted in prison. Ms. Cacho has been

imprisoned for her work and put her life on the line on behalf of children and women in Mexico. As a consequence of her unwavering defense of human rights and journalistic freedom, her own life is repeatedly threatened. Despite these dangers, she continues to champion the advancement of human rights for all children and women because she believes that every single person deserves to live a life of dignity. She has published seven books, one of the award-wining Manuals

to prevent, detect and heal child (Con mi hij@ no) She is coauthor of five collective books. Currently she is a columnist on El Universal, the main national newspaper in Mexico and a workshop teacher on successful approaches to help trafficking victims and Community Schools for Peace: a holistic approach to negotiate conflicts. Her new book Slaves of power: a world map of

sex traffickers, will be released on summer 2010.

DE’JAUN CORREIA

De’Jaun Correia has been a bold and courageous advocate with AIUSA, working towards death penalty abolition since he was in seventh grade . As Troy Davis’s nephew, he has been witness to the gross injustice committed by the US criminal justice system. In order to spread the word of the need for reform, he has spoken to British Parliament members, youth groups, schools and AIUSA members about human rights and how young people can make a difference. A committed scholar, he will graduate from the International Baccalaureate program in June and hopes to major in Industrial Engineering at Georgia Tech. Regardless of where his future takes him, he

intends to continue campaigning for human rights with Amnesty International.

LAILA EL-HADDAD

Laila el-Haddad author of Gaza Mom: Palestine, Politics, Parenting, and Everything In Between and co-author of The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey, is a talented blogger, political analyst, social activist, and parent-of-three from Gaza City. She is also a contributing author to

The Goldstone Report: The Legacy of the Landmark Investigation of the Gaza Conflict, and a policy advisor with al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network. Laila was born in Kuwait and raised primarily in Saudi Arabia, where her parents, both Gaza natives, worked, while summering in Gaza. She attended an international high school in Bahrain before coming to the United States. She received her BA from Duke University and her MPP from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Shortly after finishing graduate school, Laila returned to Gaza. From 2003-2007, she was the Gaza stringer for the website and was a regular contributor to the BBC and the Guardian online as well as radio correspondent for Pacifica’s Free Speech Radio News. During this time, she co-directed two Gaza-based documentaries for Tourist with a Typewriter Productions that aired on Al-Jazeera English, including the award-winning film Tunnel Trade. Laila also enjoys heritage collecting and travel writing, and authored the Gaza section of the Alternative Tourism Guide's Palestine guidebook.

She has been published in the Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, The New Statesman, The Daily Star, Le monde diplomatique, and has appeared on CNN, NPR, and Al Jazeera. Since November 2004, she has authored an award-winning blog now known as Gaza Mom. A running theme in El-Haddad's writing is the personalization of the situation of Gazans and Palestinians, a topic to which she brings her characteristic wry humor and introspective humanity about her daily life and those of other Palestinians.

BRIAN EVANS

Brian Evans is the Campaigner for Amnesty International USA’s Death Penalty Abolition

Campaign. Prior to moving to Washington, DC, in 2006, he was a founding member of the Texas Moratorium Network and a member of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, organizations working to stop executions in the state of Texas. He has a Master’s degree in Middle East Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and also served for 8 years as Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia Country Specialist for Amnesty International USA.

BECKY FARRAR

Becky Farrar chose to study law after several years in the work force to strengthen her ability to advocate for positive change on a global level. While at Stetson University College of Law, she been very involved in studying international human rights law. She is co-founder and first President of Stetson’s Amnesty International chapter, and coordinates state-wide lobbying in

Florida as a Legislative Coordinator for Amnesty International USA.

Becky has worked with Gulfcoast Legal Services on a Pro Bono Asylum project, recruiting and preparing resources for pro bono attorneys in handling asylum cases. She is currently President of the Public Service Fellows and helped develop and introduce the Street Law™ at Stetson program (teaching middle school students about law).

Becky has done extensive research into human rights issues related to microfinance, women’s rights in Africa, and the use of amicus briefs in the U.S. federal courts to advocate on human and civil rights. She interned with a human rights non-governmental organization in D.C., and studied international law abroad in Europe.

Becky’s varied and eclectic background of work and volunteer experience give her a unique breadth and understanding of several different businesses and organizations. Becky draws on her understanding of small and large businesses and her volunteer work in all levels of non-profit groups (from grassroots to board of directors) to creatively brainstorm solutions, and generate innovative and synergistic approaches.

COLIN GODDARD

Colin Goddard’s whole life changed after surviving the Virginia Tech massacre on April 16, 2007.

Born in , , to English and American parents working in international development, Goddard grew up in Somalia, Bangladesh, , and the United States. He completed high school in Cairo, Egypt, and returned to the US to graduate with a BA in International Studies from Virginia Tech in 2008.

While in his 4th year at Virginia Tech, Goddard was shot four times and was one of seven people, out of a classroom of seventeen, to survive the shooting. He still has three of the four bullets in his body as well as a titanium rod implanted in his left femur.

Now an activist at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Goddard uses his experience to educate others about the realities of gun violence and the problems in U.S. gun laws. The story of how he became involved in gun violence prevention is documented in the short film, Living for 32.

Goddard appears in numerous media interviews, engagement events, and spends time lobbying in Congress and state legislatures. He also uses the film to share his story in an effort to educate, advocate, and mobilize Americans to get involved in preventing gun violence.

Goddard now lives and works in Washington, D.C.

SARAH HAGER

Sarah Hager is the Chair of the AIUSA Southern Africa Co-Group. Sarah Hager is a volunteer leader at Amnesty International USA, serving as Chair of the Southern Africa Co-Group where she guides the efforts of Country Specialists monitoring human rights in twelve countries. She has also served as a Board member with Calling All Crows, an organization dedicated to empowering women, where she directed the development of their advocacy campaign. Additionally, Sarah was a consultant with IDP Action, leading the US-based lobbying effort for ratification of the African Union's newly signed Internally Displaced Person's Convention, and volunteered as a statement taker with the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Diaspora project.

Sarah provided crisis intervention and trauma therapy counseling services to rape survivors for seven years before returning to graduate school. Sarah also worked in at the Legal Aid Board where she assisted with criminal defense and appellate cases as well as civil litigation challenging violations of constitutional rights. Ms. Hager has a Master's degree in Clinical Forensic

Psychology from Drexel University and a law degree from Northwestern University. She currently practices law at BuckleySandler LLP in Washington DC.

DELPHINE HALGAND

Delphine Halgand has been working as the Director of the Washington DC office for Reporters Without Borders since December 2011. She runs the US activities for the organization and advocates for journalists, bloggers and media rights worldwide. Acting as RWB’s spokesperson in the US, Delphine regularly appears on American (PBS, Wall Street Journal,…), foreign media (Al Jazeera, NTN24,…) and lectures at conferences in US universities (Harvard University, UCLA,…) on press freedom violation issues. Previously, she served as Press attaché in charge of outreach at the French Embassy to the US. Since graduating from Sciences Po with an M.A. in Journalism, Delphine has worked as an economics correspondent for various French media (Le Monde, Les Echos, L’Express,...), focusing mainly on international politics and macroeconomic issues.

SHAHRAM HASHEMI

Shahram Hashemi is currently the Executive Director of the Student World Assembly and AIUSA Board Member since June 2007. He earned his Masters in Human Rights and Economic Development from Columbia University and BA in Finance from Adelphi University’s Honor

College. Mr. Hashemi has been involved in human rights activism for over a decade, working with various human rights organizations. In addition to his human rights work, he also has extensive auditing, financial, and budgeting experience through his work with Bank of New York and various institutions within the City University of New York. Mr. Hashemi currently serves as Executive Director of the Student World Assembly, an international grassroots network of student activists. Student World Assembly is currently the largest student organization dedicated to democratic values, human rights, and youth leadership.

Mr. Hashemi is the recipient of the former Mayor of New York City, F.H. LaGuardia Memorial Association Award for his service in the 9/11 rescue efforts. He currently resides in the Woodside neighborhood of New York City.

FARIDA ISMAEL

Farida Ghulam is the wife of the jailed Sunni opposition political activist in Bahrain, Ibrahim Sharif al- Sayed. She is a leader of the Waad party, which is the largest leftist party in Bahrain. Since the arrest of her husband in 2011, she has spoken at the largest Shiite opposition group, Al- Wefaq in

Manama Bahrain demanding freedom for her husband and other prominent jailed political leaders.

FRANK JANNUZI

Frank Jannuzi serves as Deputy Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, and head of the Washington, D.C. office. Mr. Jannuzi is an international affairs policy and political expert who most recently served Chairman John Kerry as Policy Director for East Asian and Pacific Affairs for the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His Senate service included work on human rights legislation (JADE Act on Burma, North Korea Human Rights Act, Tibet Policy Act) as well as field investigations into human rights and security conditions in numerous East Asian hotspots, including (especially Tibet), Burma, , Southern Thailand, Vietnam,

Mindanao, and North Korea.

Prior to joining the staff of the SFRC, Mr. Jannuzi worked as the East Asia regional political-military analyst for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), U.S. Department of State. His portfolio at INR included China’s defense modernization, the Korean Peninsula, insurgencies and civil wars in Southeast Asia, and territorial disputes in the South China Sea and Kuril Islands. In 1990, he worked as a refugee officer on the Thai-Cambodia border, and returned as an electoral officer for

Cambodia’s UN-run elections in May, 1993. Mr. Jannuzi was the founding editor-in-chief of Perspectives, the State Department’s classified journal on multilateral peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. Mr. Jannuzi holds a BA in history from Yale University and a MPP with a concentration in international affairs and security from the John F. Kennedy School of

Government, Harvard University. In 2006, He conducted an International Affairs Fellowship in Japan, sponsored by Hitachi, Ltd., at the Institute for International Policy Studies and Keio University. He lives in Baltimore with his wife, Dr. Jennifer Martin, and their daughters Zoe and Camille.

CARLOS LASCANO

Carlos Lascano has achieved international recognition as a director, illustrator, writer, and animator. In the past few years he has developed a universe of his own, where all his different forms of expression merge together in creating a whole, personal world.

His restless renaissance spirit has always pushed him in the search of the improvement and fusion of every kind of visual art: owner of a very personal style, his mixing of digital tools and real objects brought a new organic aesthetic concept to animation, area in which his artistic activity has been successfully devoted to for the last few years. His work alternates between commercial and narrative projects. Within his extensive résumé, a Goya Awards nomination, a Preselection to the Academy Awards, and over 30 international prizes are to be found, as well as a participation as a jury -presided by David Lynch-in the Animation Category of Vimeo’s First Festival+Awards, held in New York in 2010.

His ability to tell stories and arouse emotions in the viewer have contributed to the massive spread of his work, earning him international recognition and making him a reference point in modern animation. In 2011, Carlos was chosen by Amnesty International to write, coproduce and direct the official spot for their 50th anniversary, project in which he worked alongside Oscar winner Hans Zimmer. Later that year, the Coca Cola Company summoned Carlos to direct the official animated commercial spot the brand presented at the 2012 Eurocup.

“A Shadow of Blue,” his latest animation short film, is currently on its festival run and has been selected to participate at more than forty festivals around the globe.

REBECCA MACKINNON

Rebecca MacKinnon is a Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, where she conducts research, writing and advocacy on global Internet policy, free expression, and the impact of digital technologies on human rights. She is author of Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom (Basic Books, January 2012). She is also cofounder of Global Voices, an international citizen media network, and serves on the Boards of Directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Global Network Initiative.

CARLOS MAURICIO

Carlos Mauricio was a professor at the University of El Salvador in June 1983 when he was kidnapped from his classroom, forced into an unmarked van and taken to National Police headquarters, where he was tortured for two weeks. Upon his release, he fled to the U.S. In 2002, he was one of three plaintiffs who successfully sued two former Salvadoran Ministers of Defense for their responsibility in his imprisonment and torture. The generals were ordered to pay $54 million. In 2002, Carlos founded the Stop Impunity Project, which works to bring an end to the impunity enjoyed by human rights abusers in El Salvador.

Carlos has worked closely with the School of the Americas Watch to close this Pan American

training facility. Last year, for the sixth time, he took a caravan from San Francisco through twelve cities across the country to the annual vigil to close the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia. Carlos has also taken part in SOAW delegations to , , , , and in 2006, and Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras in 2007. He was instrumental in persuading the governments of Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia to stop sending troops to the School of the Americas.

In 2006 and 2007 Carlos lived in Burma, closely monitoring the human rights situation. In 2007, he visited Cambodia, to meeting with representatives of human rights and museums of historical

memory to research the Cambodian struggle against impunity. In 2008 and 2009 he lived in Peru, closely following the trial of ex-president Fujimori, as well as the indigenous uprising in the Amazon.

In November 2009, as a member of a delegation invited by President Mauricio Funes, and together with representatives of Amnesty International, the Center for Justice and Accountability, he attended ceremonies in San Salvador to commemorate the assassinations of the six Jesuit priests and their two housekeepers.

In his efforts to build a Museum of Memory in El Salvador, he is currently working with an organization of former political prisoners and torture survivors and returns to El Salvador regularly.

JAMES MCGOVERN

Congressman Jim McGovern, since his election in 1996, has been widely recognized as a tenacious advocate for his district, a tireless crusader for change, and an unrivaled supporter for social justice and fundamental human rights.

Currently serving his eighth term in Congress, McGovern serves as a Senior Minority Whip; the second ranking Democrat on the powerful House Rules Committee, which sets the terms for debate and amendments on most legislation; and a member of the House Agriculture Committee. In those roles, McGovern has secured millions of dollars in federal assistance for Central and Southeastern Massachusetts. McGovern is also co-chair of both the Tom Lantos Human Rights

Commission and the House Hunger Caucus.

Over the past 14 years, McGovern has consistently delivered millions of dollars for vital local and regional projects, small businesses, public safety, regional and mass transportation projects, and affordable housing around the district. Under McGovern’s leadership over the past two years, individual project successes have included federal funding for innovative, high-tech small businesses; police jobs saved in Worcester and Fall River; $2.8 million delivered to regional transit authorities in Greater Attleboro and Southeastern Massachusetts for infrastructure repairs and new buses; and $1 million to Medway and Ashland for long-overdue traffic improvements.

McGovern voted against the initial authorization of force in Iraq in 2002, and has been among the most prominent Congressional voices on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. McGovern introduced a bipartisan, bicameral bill calling for a flexible timetable for withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan as a matter of national security and fiscal responsibility.

McGovern has also taken a leadership role in the fight against hunger at home and abroad, successfully expanding the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, which helps alleviate child hunger and poverty by providing nutritious meals to children in schools in the world’s poorest countries.

Before his election to Congress, the 50 year-old McGovern spent fourteen years working as a senior aide for the late U.S. Representative John Joseph Moakley (D-South Boston), former dean of the Massachusetts delegation and Chairman of the House Rules Committee. In 1989, McGovern was the lead investigator on the Moakley Commission Congressional Investigation into the murders of 6 Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter in 1989. The investigation ultimately led to a seminal change in U.S. foreign policy towards El Salvador when determined that the Salvadoran military was implicated in the murders. That landmark determination led to future military aid from the U.S. being conditioned on an improved human rights record.

THENJIWE MCHARRIS

Thenjiwe McHarris has devoted her professional and political career to the restoration of

historically marginalized people and places. Thenjiwe joined Amnesty International USA in 2009

and currently is a Senior Campaigner working on both the organization's Arms Trade Treaty

Campaign as well as the Death Penalty Abolition Campaign. Thenjiwe was seconded in 2011 by Amnesty International's International Secretariat to launch AI South Africa's Making Rights Law Campaign and continues to organize and campaign on a spectrum of human rights issues.

Thenjiwe has spoken on topics including movement building, building grassroots power, leadership development, human rights and poverty as well as grassroots organizing at Yale University,

Columbia University, New York University, Bard College, Rutgers University, Medgar Evers College,

World Social Forum – Kenya, Social Forum of the Americas – Guatemala, the South African Human Rights Commission, Student Human Rights Conference as well as other institutions and forums in the United States and abroad.

CHRIS MICHAEL

Chris Michael is a trainer, video producer and human rights advocate who helped launch and run the Hub, and has led and supported WITNESS partner campaigns and online-focused initiatives. Prior to WITNESS, Chris designed, led and coordinated innovative and high-profile local, national and international social and environmental justice campaigns for organizations such as Global Exchange and Rainforest Action Network. Much of Chris' work has been focused on creative,

innovative and effective campaigns that utilize technology to promote justice. Additionally, Chris has worked as a field archaeologist, architectural historian and writer.

GEOFFREY MOCK

Geoffrey Mock is manager of internal communications for the Duke University Office of News and Communications and editor of Duke Today, www.duke.edu/today, the university’s daily online newspaper.

He joined Duke University in 1986 to help start Dialogue, a weekly tabloid that covered both the campus and medical center at Duke University. He became editor of the paper in 1987 and continued with it until January 2006 when the paper was discontinued and Duke Today was launched. In its two years, the online newspaper has been honored by both CASE and Ragan Communications for its combination of university news and community information. The online

paper provides research stories, university news and essential items such as traffic alerts, service outages, dining menus and classified ads. Mock also oversees the marketing plan for Duke Today,

which has helped increase readership nearly three-fold in its two-plus years.

Before joining Duke, Mock worked as an education reporter for newspapers in Gastonia, N.C., and

Havre de Grace, Md. He graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with a political science degree in 1982.

KASHA JACQUELINE NABAGESERA

Kasha Jacqueline originally an accountant by profession, she changed carriers by acquiring a Human Rights Advocacy diploma from Human Rights Education Associates in Massachusetts, USA. As the Executive Director of Freedom and Roam , she now works as a queer feminist, fighting for the rights of LGBT persons not only in Uganda but in Africa at large. In 2010 she was elected the most inspiring queer woman in the world by the Velvetpark Magazine, which described

her as a “Braveheart”. In 2011, as the world was celebrating 100 years of International Womens’ Day, she was listed on the Women Deliver 100 list, as well as among the 50 most inspiring Feminists women in Africa. In the same year Kasha got awarded The Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, which is often considered as the Nobel Price for human rights and is chosen by a jury of ten leading international human rights organizations.

Hans Thoolen, chairman of the Martin Ennals Foundation, in announcing the award, described her as “a leading light, an exceptional woman of a rare courage, fighting under death threat for human dignity.” He also affirmed the jury’s rationale for presenting the Ennals award to an LGBT rights advocate for the first time: “Let there be no mistake on *what+ awaits gay people on the ground, especially for those who openly claim their equal rights… I do hope that the Martin Ennals award of 2011 will contribute to the eradication of homophobia in humans.” In 2013 she will be awarded

the Nuremberg International human rights award for her continuous work in LGBT activism. Even in the wake of the pending Anti-Homosexuality Bill in the Parliament she has continued to live in Uganda and is currently suing the government for the continuous closure of LGBT gatherings.

ALICE NKOM

Alice Nkom is a gay rights activist and lawyer working for LGBT rights in her homeland Cameroon.

Alice Nkom has been working tirelessly for improving the living conditions of LGBT people in her country. In 2003, Nkom was a very prominent delegate in an International Visitor Leadership Program on “Grassroots Democracy.” In Oregon, she was an active part of the Portland Bus Project — an initiative directed towards improving interaction, inspiring youngsters to be politically active and to foster the growth of a grassroots progressive movement. Taking inspirations from her experiences in Oregon she has been working towards setting up a similar initiative in her homeland of Cameroon, titled “Get on the Bus.”

MICHAEL POFFENBERGER

Michael Poffenberger is a co-Founder and the Executive Director of The Resolve LRA Crisis Initiative, a research and advocacy organization focused on ending atrocities being committed by

the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Since co-founding The Resolve in 2007, Poffenberger has overseen campaigns that secured passage of landmark US legislation addressing the crisis, testified in Congress, and developed the advocacy strategy for the "Kony 2012" campaign. In 2011, Poffenberger oversaw the launch of the LRA Crisis Tracker, an award-winning tool that maps LRA atrocities in near real-time. Poffenberger serves on the Advisory Board of Invisible Children and the Board of Directors for the Grassroots Reconciliation Group.

SAMANTHA RODGERS

Samantha Rodgers came to Amnesty from Greenpeace USA where she was a member of the senior leadership team as Grassroots Director, overseeing Greenpeace’s volunteer and mobilization strategies to solve global warming, protect ancient forests, save oceans and reduce environmental

toxins. In 2006, she started Greenpeace’s field organizing team and launched Project Hot Seat, a campaign to implement legislative solutions to global warming in the U.S. that moved over 70 Members and candidates for Congress to improve their positions on the issue. Prior to Greenpeace, she worked with MoveOn.org Political Action, where she was part of MoveOn’s first full-scale field organizing campaign and directed operations in Albuquerque, NM during the 2004 election season.

LUIX SALDANA

Jose Luix Saldana Caudillo is a drumcircle Facilitator. Since 1992, he has been sharing the power and medicine of drumming. He works mainly with business and development groups. Since 1994 he has been implementing an ongoing rhythm based program in state and federal prisons within the Mexican system. His latest phrase is “give them the space and a drum and they’ll show you magic,

light and power.”

BISHOP CHRISTOPHER SENYONJO

Bishop Christopher Senyonjo is a clergyman and LGBT rights activist from Uganda. He studied at the Union Theological Seminary in 1963, and was ordained into the priesthood in 1964 in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. He served in the Church of Uganda and was elevated to bishop in 1974. In 2002, his functions of vesting and laying on of hands were revoked by the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda on behalf of the House of Bishops of Uganda. He

consecrated a bishop for the Charismatic Church of Uganda; and in 2006, the Church of Uganda responded by completely dissociating itself from Senyonjo and stating that he was no longer a bishop. Senyonjo contested this. He was included in Huffington Post religion's 10 most influential people of 2010.

SALIL SHETTY

Salil Shetty joined Amnesty International as the organization’s eighth Secretary General in July 2010. A long-term activist on poverty and justice, Salil Shetty leads the movement's worldwide work to end human rights violations. Prior to joining Amnesty International, Salil Shetty was Director of

the United Nations Millennium Campaign from 2003 to 2010. He played a pivotal role in building the global advocacy campaign for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

From 1998 to 2003, he was Chief Executive of ActionAid, and is credited with transforming the organization into one of the world’s foremost international development NGOs.

Salil Shetty studied at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and at the School of Economics.

SINS OF THE LOOSE BUTTONS

Sins of the Loose Buttons is a four-piece indie/alternative rock band from New York City who wants you to have a great time. Whether you are watching one of their music videos, reading an interview with them or dancing along at one of their many live shows across the globe, if you are having a blast, Sins of the Loose Buttons calls it a “Mission Accomplished”…a real one.

SOJA

SOJA started when shortly after returning from Africa, lead singer/guitarist, Jacob Hemphill, met Bobby Lee (bass) in the first grade in Virginia. The two instantly became best friends, finding common ground through their love of hip hop, rock and reggae which they performed together at their middle school talent shows. Throughout high school, they met Ryan Berty (drums), Kenneth Brownell (percussion) and Patrick O’Shea (keyboards) and together formed SOJA. The band gigged locally in the DC area while a couple of the guys finished school, all the while making plans to hit the road after graduation.

Over the course of the past few years, SOJA has sold more than 150,000 albums, headlined large theaters in more than 15 countries around the world, generated over 20 million+ YouTube views, amassed more than a half-million Facebook fans, and attracted an almost Grateful Dead-like international fanbase that grows with each tour, with caravans of diehards following them from city to city.

With Strength to Survive, the band makes an impassioned call for unity and change with universally relatable songs about faith, hope and love. “I could go on and on about the horrible damage we’ve done to the earth or the problems that arise when countries compete for money over an imaginary border, but the album has one central theme,” says Hemphill, “and that’s our hope for the world to be one family.”

Hemphill says the band’s simple and honest approach to music is what’s enabled them to break through obstacles of language, distance and culture in amassing an international following.

FATHER ALEJANDRO SOLALINDE

Father Alejandro Solalinde is a Catholic priest in Mexico who has dedicated his life to providing a place of safety for migrants, away from the criminal gangs who exploit and abuse them. Because of his work as a , Father Solalinde has been continuously threatened and intimidated by local gangs and officials. His life is at risk. Father Solalinde serves as coordinator of

the Catholic Pastoral Care Center for Migrants in Southwestern Mexico (Pastoral de Movilidad Humana Pacifico Sur del Episcopado Mexicano) and director of a migrants' shelter in the municipality of Ixtepec, Oaxaca state, called Brothers on the Road (Hermanos en el Camino).

KALINDA STEPHENSON

Kalinda Stephenson works for Representative Frank Wolf (R-Va.), focusing on his role as co- chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. She has a penchant for language, already at an advanced level in her graduate school Arabic classes. She hopes to be stationed with the Foreign Service somewhere in the Middle East within the next couple of years.

KATRINA LANTOS SWETT

Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett established the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice in 2008 and serves as its President and Chief Executive Officer. This human rights organization is proudly carrying on

the unique legacy of the late Congressman Tom Lantos who, as the only survivor of the Holocaust ever elected to Congress, was one of our nation’s most eloquent and forceful leaders on behalf of human rights and justice. In addition to managing the Lantos Foundation, Dr. Lantos Swett teaches human rights and American foreign policy at Tufts University. She also taught at the University of Southern Denmark while her husband, former Congressman Richard Swett, was serving as the U.S. Ambassador in Copenhagen.

Her varied professional experiences include working on Capitol Hill as Deputy Counsel to the Criminal Justice Sub-Committee of the Senate Judiciary Committee for then Senator Joe Biden and as a consultant to businesses, charitable foundations, and political campaigns.

Dr. Lantos Swett also has experience in broadcasting, having co-hosted the highly regarded political talk show ”Beyond Politics” for many years on WMUR TV, New Hampshire’s only network affiliated television station. As co-host, she interviewed state, national, and international figures, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Vice President Al Gore, First Lady Hillary Clinton, Members of the United States Congress, and George Stephanopoulos on the issues of the day.

From 2003-2006 Dr. Lantos Swett served as the Director of the Graduate program in Public Policy at New England College, where she now serves on the college’s Board of Trustees. She is also a member of the Board of HRNK Human Rights in North Korea and the Tom Lantos Institute in Budapest. She has served on numerous Boards in the past, including the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium Foundation, the Institute for Justice Sector Development, the Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling (co-Chair), and the NH Citizen’s Commission on the State Courts. She has also been active in Democratic politics for over three decades. In 2002, she was the Democratic nominee for Congress in New Hampshire’s 2nd District, and she was chosen as a Presidential elector in 1992. She has been a member of the New Hampshire Democratic Party (NHDP) Executive Committee and served as Vice-Chair of the NHDP Finance Committee.

Under Dr. Lantos Swett’s leadership as President and CEO, the Lantos Foundation has quickly become a distinguished and respected voice on many key human rights concerns ranging from rule of law in and Internet freedom in closed societies to the on-going threat of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. The Foundation also supports human rights defenders around the globe through its Front Line Fund and runs the Lantos Congressional Fellows program in conjunction with Humanity in Action. Each year the Lantos Foundation awards the Lantos Human Rights Prize to an individual who has demonstrated a commitment to standing up for decency, dignity, freedom, and justice. Past recipients have included His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Professor Elie Wiesel, and Paul Rusesabagina.

Dr. Lantos Swett graduated from Yale University in 1974 at the age of 18 and earned her Juris Doctor at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1976. She received her Ph.D. in History from the University of Southern Denmark in 2001. Dr. Lantos Swett has been married for 31 years to former Congressman and Ambassador Richard Swett and they are parents of 7 children and 2 grandchildren. She resides in Bow, New Hampshire.

ALEC URBACH

Alec Urbach, a 17 year old award winning writer, filmmaker and social entrepreneur, is the Founder and Executive Director of Giving From the Ground Up and its subsidiary: Alec’s Animated

Schoolhouse (501 (c) 3), which produce revolutionary elementary school lessons for cartoon- animated curricula in Science, Math and Hygiene—serving over 240,000 children to date in Ghana, Togo and Botswana, and expanding into Central & South America in 2013. He is also CEO of Worldwise Comics—a company that produces an original series of global children’s comic books tackling pressing social issues like: bullying, negative peer pressure, the importance of staying in school, need for clean water, diversity, etc. A portion of all Worldwise Comics proceeds go to fund underserved elementary schools in the U.S., Africa and South America. Alec was chosen by Youth Service America as one of The 25 Most Powerful and Influential Young People in the World; is a 2012 Winner of the National Caring Award; was a Torchbearer for the London 2012 Olympics; is a winner of the Nestle Very Best in Youth Scholarship Award; chosen as a 2012 Global Teen Leader by Three Dot Dash; winner of the Milton Fisher Scholarship Award for Innovation & Creativity; recipient of the Presidential Service Award; winner of a full merit scholarship to study at Cambridge University-summer 2012; winner of the Robert Sheppard Leadership Scholarship Award ; and is a National Merit Scholarship Finalist, AXA Achievement Scholarship Finalist and an AP Scholar with Honors. Alec is a sought after TEDX presenter (TEDxRedmond 2012, Microsoft Center, Washington & TEDx Santa Monica) and public speaker on the topics of creative education reform and social entrepreneurial empowerment of yo ung artists and educators.

NATALIE WARNE

Natalie Warne, at the young age of 18, began working as a human rights activist with an organization called Invisible Children. Over four years she toured the United States advocating for the end to child soldiering and mobilized multiple international events bringing thousands of participants from around the world. As a result of these efforts, her story and the organization Invisible Children were featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Her journey followed into working as a filmmaker in Rwanda and Uganda capturing the stories of war affected communities. Natalie was given the honor to speak at TEDxTeen 2010 and 2011 to tell her story. Both of her talks circulated the world with over 700,000 views.

While pursuing and continuing her dreams of filmmaking in Los Angeles, Natalie currently travels around the world to speak about her own story, inspiring and challenging youth in the importance of their role to effect positive change in the world.

DIEGO E. ZAVALA

Diego E. Zavala received his PhD. in Epidemiology at the University Of Texas School Of Public Health.

He also received a MSC in Medical Demography at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a MSC in Epidemiology at Tulane University. He currently resides in Puerto Rico.

He is the co-author of “Understanding Violence, The Role of Injury Surveillance Systems in Africa”. He was a UNDP Consultant from November 2010 to April 2011. He was temporarily assigned to support Regional Seminars on Armed Violence and Development in Latin America. He has been an AIUSA volunteer since 1981 and a member of AI Group 143 for 13 years. He was Louisiana’s Area Coordinator from 1983 to 1994 and the former chair and founder of MSP Working Group. In addition, he was the former Member of AIUSA Board of Directors and AIUSA delegate to 2001, 2003 and 2005 ICM. He traveled to Mexico in two official AI missions. He is fluent in Spanish and was born in Bolivia.