Use Your Power: Human Rights Conference 2013 Confirmed Speakers

ANNA AAGENES

Anna Aagenes is the Executive Director of GO! (Generation Out) Athletes, the nation’s first outreach, support, educational, advocacy and leadership organization for LGBTQ student- athletes. GO! Athletes serves to connect LGBTQ student-athletes with other LGBTQ student- athletes and find supportive resources. Anna also serves as a member of the GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) Sports Project and has represented the organization across the country at events such as the NCAA Diversity Forum, the Equality Forum, and the Nike LGBT Sports Summit. Anna was the Captain of Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country Team, a Division I NCAA Regional qualifier. Anna graduated from Penn in May 2010 as a member of Phi

Beta Kappa and received the Penn Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Alumni Association Award for her LGBTQ activism. While at Penn, Anna was a co-chair of PATH (Penn Athletes and Allies Tackling Homophobia) and the Queer Student Alliance.

In addition to her non-profit work and LGBTQA activism, Anna is the District Office Director for State Representative Brian Sims. Representative Sims was elected last year to become Pennsylvania’s first openly gay state legislator. In addition to her job as the District Director, she continues to advocate on behalf of LGBTQ homeless and runaway youth as a member of the C2P (Connect to Protect) Housing Committee and is a vocal advocate for the HIV positive community.

Originally from Bucks County, PA, Anna currently lives and works in downtown Philadelphia.

CATHY ALBISA

Cathy Albisa is a constitutional and human rights lawyer with a background on the right to health. Ms. Albisa also has significant experience working in partnership with community organizers in the use of human rights standards to strengthen advocacy in the United States. She co-founded

NESRI along with Sharda Sekaran and Liz Sullivan in order to build legitimacy for human rights in general, and economic and social rights in particular, in the United States. She is committed to a community-centered and participatory human rights approach that is locally anchored, but

universal and global in its vision. Ms. Albisa clerked for the Honorable Mitchell Cohen in the District of New Jersey. She received a BA from the University of Miami and is a graduate of Columbia Law School.

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.

DONALD BIERER

Donald Bierer is currently a third-year law student at Indiana University Maurer School of Law

(Bloomington), where he focuses his studies on taxation, civil litigation, and LGBT rights. He co- founded and currently serves as an executive board member of the LGBT Project at Indiana University, a pro bono legal services and policy organization focusing on matters ranging from marriage equality and transgender legal issues to LGBT housing, employment, and public accommodation discrimination. Recently, he was one of the principal authors of More Than Just a

Coupe: 614 Reasons Why Marriage Equality Matters in Indiana, a comprehensive study of the legal implications of marriage equality under Indiana law. Donald is an active member of the National LGBT and Indiana State Bar Associations. For the latter, he is organizing a continuing legal education seminar on legal trends in marriage equality, the DOMA and Prop 8 cases, and right- based approaches to marriage equality litigation inside and outside of the Supreme Court. He is frequent contributor and discussant on LGBT rights for various media outlets in Indiana.

An AIUSA member since 2000, Donald is currently Chair of AIUSA’s Priorities SubCommittee, facilitating international consultations on human rights priorities in AIUSA, and member of the

LGBT Human Rights Coordination Group, directing AIUSA's LGBT human rights work. Previously holding several governance roles in AIUSA, he is also currently serving the Amnesty movement globally in his second term on the Membership Appeals Committee.

KIRK BLOODSWORTH

Kirk Bloodsworth is the Advocacy Director, Witness to Innocence. Kirk Bloodsworth, a former Marine, was exonerated by DNA in 1993 of the rape and murder of nine-year-old Dawn Hamilton. He was sentenced to death in Baltimore County, Maryland, in 1985. The evidence linking Bloodsworth to the 1984 crime was the testimony of five witnesses who placed him either with the victim or near the scene of the crime. The prosecution also introduced forensic evidence

purporting to link a pair of his shoes to marks on the victim's body. Bloodsworth's conviction was overturned in 1986, but he was retried and convicted again, and sentenced to two life terms. In 1992, Kirk obtained court approval for DNA testing of biological evidence from the crime scene. The tests incontrovertibly established Kirk’s innocence, and he was released in June 1993, becoming the first U.S. death row prisoner exonerated by DNA. In addition to speaking around the country for Witness to Innocence, Kirk has been a primary mover in the campaign for death penalty repeal in Maryland. He has also been an ardent supporter of the Innocence Protection Act (IPA), a federal law which established the Kirk Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing Program, a program that helps states defray the costs of post-conviction DNA testing.

LYDIA CACHO

Lydia Cacho is a Mexican journalist, author and a feminist activist against violence. In 2000 she founded and directs a high security shelter for battered and sexually exploited women and children in Cancun, Mexico. 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 rape 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 sexual abuse (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. Ms. Cacho’s most recent book is called “Slaves of

Power: a world map of sex traffickers.”

DE’JAUN CORREIA

De’Jaun Davis-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 U.S. 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 attending Morehouse College in the fall to pursue an engineering degree.

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 Acting Director of 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 is an AIUSA Legislative Coordinator who is committed to advancing human rights generally and to Amnesty’s role in doing so. She does not have a single issue focus but works on both traditional Amnesty work (prisoners of conscience, individuals at risk) and full spectrum rights (demand dignity). She enjoys being involved in both strategic thinking (brainstorming, giving input) and logistical planning (events, rallies, embassy visits).

Becky has been extensively involved in building a stronger AI presence in DC. She works closely with the local group and fellow volunteer leaders and volunteers to brainstorm, plan and produce events, as well as networking with coalition partners (American Association for the Advancement of Science, Reporters without Borders, Cartoonists Rights’ Network International). Becky likes Amnesty’s shared leadership model and enjoys working with Amnesty staff and fellow members on projects.

Becky is a lawyer. Prior to law school, she worked in human resources and ran small businesses, including as publisher and editor of a magazine. For the past two years, Becky has been Co-Chair of the American Bar Association’s International Human Rights Committee for the Section of International Law.

BENNETT FREEMAN

Bennett Freeman is the Senior Vice President of Sustainability Research and Policy. He leads Calvert's Sustainability Research Department and oversees its company research and analysis as well as its policy and advocacy work. From 2003 until early 2006, he led Burson-Marsteller's Global Corporate Responsibility practice advising multinationals on policy development, stakeholder engagement and communications strategies related to human rights, labor rights and sustainable development. During the Clinton Administration he served in three positions as a presidential appointee in the State Department, most recently as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor from 1999 to early 2001. In that capacity, he led the development of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, the first human rights standard forged by governments, companies and NGOs for the extractive sectors. Earlier in his career he was Manager-Corporate Affairs for General Electric and a presidential campaign aide to former Vice President Walter Mondale. Mr. Freeman serves on the Boards of America, the Institute for Business and Human Rights, the Revenue Watch Institute, the Global Network Initiative (GNI), the Genocide Intervention Network and EG Justice. From 2006-09 he served on the Board of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) representing Oxfam. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations as well as a frequent speaker and media commentator on sustainable investment, corporate responsibility, human rights and U.S. foreign policy. Mr. Freeman received an MA in Modern History from the University of Oxford, where he studied as an English Speaking Union Churchill Scholar at Balliol College, and an AB in History from the University of California at Berkeley.

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.

CURT GOERING

Curt Goering is the Executive Director of The Center for Victims of Torture. He oversees an international staff with offices in St. Paul, Minneapolis, Washington D.C. and healing projects in Africa and the Middle East. CVT provides comprehensive care for victims of government- sponsored torture, conducts research and training, and undertakes policy efforts to commit the U.S. and other institutions to work against torture and aid torture survivors.

Mr. Goering began at CVT in May 2012. Prior to that, he was the Chief Operating Officer at Amnesty International USA, where he had worked for nearly 30 years. As COO, he managed the largest branch of the organization, and his tenure saw significant expansion in revenues, advocacy programs and membership. In addition to directing the day to day operations, he was involved in strategy development, public policy and planning, financial oversight and external relations. He chaired a global policy team based on five continents, leading to new research and advocacy policies. His experience gave him deep knowledge of international human rights and

humanitarian issues.

Over his professional career, Goering led a dozen Amnesty International missions including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Mongolia, Taiwan, Turkey, and Tanzania. In addition to his positions with Amnesty as a researcher, advocacy director for Europe and the Middle East, Senior Deputy Executive Director and COO, he served as an interim Head of the Gaza office for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2009 and 2010.

CLEMENTINA MURCIA GONZÁLEZ

Clementina Murcia González is a 68 year old mother searching for two of her sons. Jorge Orlando Fúnez Murci was 17 years old when he left Honduras in 1987. Fifteen years later, her younger son

Almagro Orlando Fúnez Murcia, left home for the U.S when he was 23 years old. After five years without any news from him, the young man called her from the southern region in Mexico asking

her to send him some money. A few days later she received a call from a stranger that said that his son was at the Mexico-U.S. border but couldn’t continue in his journey to the U.S. because he didn’t have any money. She was not able to speak with her son but told the stranger to tell her son to come back home. She never heard from him again. Clementina has participated in a tour of Mexico with mothers of disappeared migrants from other countries in Central America that are searching for their loved ones. “It is horrible to live without a son at home, because to go into his bedroom where he use to sleep and see it empty is horrible”

MAYOR VINCENT C. GRAY

Vincent C. Gray was sworn in on January 2, 2011 as the sixth elected Mayor of the District of Columbia. He was overwhelmingly elected on November 2, 2010, garnering nearly 75 percent of the vote. During his campaign, he pledged to help unite the District by focusing on job creation and economic development, a collaborative approach to school reform, safer streets in all neighborhoods and restoring fiscal responsibility to city government.

The Gray Administration is moving forward in accomplishing the Mayor’s four top priorities: ensuring a quality public education for all District children, creating jobs and providing economic development opportunities for District residents, making sure residents are and feel safe no

matter what neighborhood in which they live, and ensuring that the city is fiscally sound. Mayor Gray also is focused on achieving autonomy and full democracy for District of Columbia taxpayers, and improving health outcomes.

His dedication to children and their families has been the hallmark of his service in both city government and the non-profit sector. His lifetime of public service to the District can be best summed up by a singular governing philosophy—that the District of Columbia works best as "One City."

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 Paris 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 , 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.

MATTHEW HAWTHORNE

Matthew Hawthorne is the Director of Policy for the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT). Matt graduated from Brandeis University with degrees in politics and chemistry. Post graduation, he worked on constituent casework for Senator Conrad. He then moved to Washington, D.C., where he began working on civil liberties issues for Senator Dorgan. After his stint in Senator Dorgan’s office, he took some time to travel in southeast Asia, and then he joined NRCAT as the Director for Policy Coordination. NRCAT is a membership organization of religious organizations committed to ending torture that is sponsored or enabled by the United States. Since its formation on January 16, 2006, more than 300 religious organizations have joined and

over 65,000 individual people of faith have participated in its activities. Members include representatives from the Baha’i, Buddhist, Catholic, evangelical Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim,

Orthodox Christian, mainline Protestant, Quaker, Sikh and Unitarian Universalist communities. Members include national denominations and faith groups, regional organizations and congregations.

MARGARET HUANG

Margaret Huang, an experienced advocate for racial justice and human rights in the United States, is the Executive Director of the Rights Working Group (RWG). The RWG coalition was formed in the aftermath of 9/11 to restore civil liberties and human rights protections that have been eroded by national security policies. As a national coalition of more than 320 civil liberties,

immigrant rights and human rights organizations, RWG seeks to ensure that the rights of everyone in the United States are respected regardless of citizenship or immigration status, race, national origin, religion or ethnicity. In 2009, RWG launched a campaign, Racial Profiling: Face the Truth, working with member organizations and allies around the country to enact legislation and win policy reforms that would ban racial and religious profiling by law enforcement agencies.

Ms. Huang sits on the Steering Committee of the Human Rights at Home Campaign, which seeks to promote a domestic human rights agenda in the U.S. She serves on the Board of Directors for the US Human Rights Network, a coalition of more than two hundred and fifty organizational members dedicated to promoting U.S. government accountability to human rights standards.

Ms. Huang's previous work experience includes serving as Director of the U.S. Program at Global Rights, as Program Director of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights, as Program Manager at The Asia Foundation, and as Committee Staff for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Ms. Huang received a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University, and a

B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University.

FARIDA GHULAM ISMAIL

Farida Ghulam Ismail is a member of the Bahrain Women's Union and a leader of the Democratic Action Society (Waad), a center-left group with some following among Sunnis in Bahrain. Her husband Ebrahim Sharif, general secretary of Waad, was jailed by the monarchy and is an Amnesty

International prisoner of conscience.

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 China (especially Tibet), Burma, Cambodia, 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 Peacekeeping 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.

ZEKE JOHNSON

Zeke Johnson is the Director of Amnesty International USA's Security with Human Rights Campaign. The campaign's goals are to close Guantanamo by ending indefinite detention and military commissions; ensure that no person is wrongfully killed with drones or other weapons;

and ensure that torture is never again used by or on behalf of the U.S. government. Join the Security with Human Rights Campaign at www.amnestyusa.org/security and follow Zeke on @ZekeJohnsonAi.

ESTHER KIOBEL

Esther Kiobel is a U.S. resident and the wife of deceased Dr. Barinem Kiobel. She filed a lawsuit along with other Ogoni asylees against Shell corporation in 2002. Her lawsuit was filed under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), a 200-year-old law that has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to allow federal lawsuits for modern-day egregious international law violations. The Ogoni plaintiffs allege that Shell planned, conspired, and facilitated the Nigerian government's extrajudicial executions, crimes against humanity, and torture against the Ogoni people. Shell argues that corporations cannot be sued under the ATS.

HTAY KYWE

Htay Kywe is a pioneer of the 1988 nationwide pro-democracy uprising and active organizer during the 1988 protests and a spokesperson for his fellow students. He co-founded student groups and later served as a catalyst for the country wide demonstrations against the military junta. He led the Rangoon Arts & Science University student demonstrations and the “Red Bridge” protests – also known as “March Affairs”. As joint-secretary of the Progressive Students Organization (Ta-Ta-Pha in Burmese), he helped convene the Rangoon Arts & Science University boycott of the government-led Burmese Socialist Programme Party (BSPP). On March 22, 1988, he was arrested in Henzada city and released on July 7, 1988. He then co-founded the All Burma Students Democratic Movement

Organization ABSDMO (Ma-Ka-Da in Burmese) and served as deputy chair. The organization was formed to facilitate country-wide boycotts and to organize the formation of the “Four Eights” of the (8-8-88) general strike committee. As one of the leading members of the ABSDMO’s 119-member organizing committee, he acted as the key figure in opposing military rule. On July 15, 1991, Htay Kywe was arrested by the military government, from his home in Rangoon. Then, on December 30, 1991, he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. Although on this date Htay Kywe’s prison term expired, the military regime continued to hold him under 10(a) of the State Protection Act 1975, at the Tharawaddy prison. While he was in the prison, he had stomach surgery in serious condition as he had more than 100 stitches internal and external wounds. He was then released from

Tharawaddy prison in October 2004.

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.

DAVID LOVE

David A. Love is the Executive Director, Witness to Innocence. David has more than fifteen years of

experience as a community organizer, editor, human rights advocate, journalist, legal advocate,

legislative staff person, and executive director. He has extensive experience working with prison issues, police abuse cases, and other human rights issues. He has written and lectured around the

world on the issue of the U.S. death penalty. Previously, David served as the Executive Director of

the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, working with legislators in the General Assembly in

Harrisburg. He also served as law clerk to two federal judges—the Honorable James T. Giles of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the Honorable Ronald L. Ellis of the Southern District of New York. David is also Executive Editor of BlackCommentator.com, and a contributor to the Huffington Post, theGrio (NBC News), Progressive Media Project and the Guardian. Love received a Bachelor of

Arts in East Asian Studies from Harvard College. He also received his Juris Doctor from the

University of Pennsylvania Law School, and a Certificate in International Human Rights Law from the

University of Oxford. His blog is davidalove.com.

REBECCA MACKINNON

Rebecca MacKinnon is a Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation where she conducts research, writing, and advocacy at on the intersection of networked technologies, human rights, and corporate accountability. She is author of Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle For Internet Freedom (2012) and is co-founder of Global Voices Online, a path-breaking citizen media network. In 2012 the Columbia Journalism Review named her one of “40 women who changed the media business in the past 40 years.” MacKinnon also serves on the Boards of Directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Global Network Initiative, a multi-stakeholder

organization that advances corporate responsibility and human rights in the technology sector. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, MacKinnon worked as a journalist for CNN in Beijing for nine years and was Beijing Bureau Chief and Correspondent from 1998-2001, then served as CNN’s Tokyo Bureau Chief and Correspondent from 2001-03. From 2004-06 she was a fellow at Harvard, first at the Shorenstein Center on the Press and Publicy Policy and then at Harvard’s Berkman Center for

Internet and Society. In 2007-08 she taught online journalism at the University of Hong Kong’s Journalism and Media Studies Centre. In 2009 she was an Open Society Fellow, and in the Spring of 2010 she was a Visiting Fellow at Princeton’s Center or Information Technology Policy. MacKinnon received her AB magna cum laude from Harvard University and was a Fullbright scholar in Taiwan in

1991-92. She currently lives in Washington D.C.

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 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 Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile 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. McGovern is also co-chair of both the Tom Lantos Human

Rights Commission and the House Hunger Caucus.

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, 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 has been a lawyer since 1969. She was the first black woman called to the bar in Cameroon, at a time when the majority of lawyers were men, particularly white men. Despite the difficulties she faced throughout her journey, and God knows there were many, she was able to overcome them through hard work and the admiration she had for those in her profession. Conscious of her role and responsibility as a pioneer in the legal profession, she felt it was her duty to encourage more women to be lawyers. To do so, she knew she had to work twice as hard as

men since being a woman did not offer her any privileges, but rather was a tool of exclusion and marginalization used against her. Throughout her career, Alice Nkom has always been a leader determined to be a lawyer like any

other. She is often described as stubborn and tenacious by those who know and love her. She is a woman of courage, of the law and of duty even when her life was threatened. During Cameroon’s 70 year civil war, she pledged to defend Mr. Ndogmo who was accused by the government of being the mastermind of the insurgency and the Ahidjo family whose interests were diminished.

Not only is she a woman of the law, but of principle and conviction who has dedicated her entire life to fight gender inequalities and the respect and dignity of humanity. Therefore, she actively campaigns for the promotion of democracy, the respect of human rights, the defense of the environment, the struggle against HIV/AIDS, the fight against corruption and the illegal migration of young Cameroonians. Today, her work has given her international recognition.

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.

MICHELLE RINGUETTE

Michelle Ringuette is the Chief of Campaigns and Programs at AIUSA. She has spent 20+ years

working in domestic and international advocacy, with expertise in labor, corporate accountability, women's rights, social justice, economic rights, educational and political campaigns. Prior to joining AIUSA, she served as the assistant to the president for strategic initiatives at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), director of strategic affairs at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). After the 2010 elections, she led traditional and online communications for the unified labor movement's effort to fight back in Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida and 9 other states. Previously, she worked at an international NGO promoting women's sexual and reproductive health

and rights and pushing back against fundamentalisms. Michelle is a co-founder of the ALECexposed

Network, which she started with a group of friends to unveil the American Legislative Exchange

Council's voter suppression efforts, "stand your ground" laws to benefit the NRA, and its role in advancing state legislation to benefit its corporate members. Through the work of ALECexposed, many major multinational companies, including Kraft, Wal-Mart and CocaCola, ended their involvement with ALEC. Michelle holds degrees in English and Philosophy from Boston College, and

she did graduate work in psychology at Harvard University. She and her husband live with their 5

year-old son in Washington, D.C.

SAMANTHA RODGERS

Samantha Rodgers is Chief Membership Mobilization Officer at AIUSA. She 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.

JORDANA ROSENFELD

Jordana Rosenfeld is the Mid-Atlantic Regional Representative to and Co-Chair of the National Youth Action Committee. An AIUSA volunteer leader and youth activist since 2010, Jordana has also been a Group Coordinator and Student Activist Coordinator. Jordana is a recent graduate of Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts High School. She currently lives in Washington, DC where she is a City Year Corps Member working with DC Public Schools students at Kelly Miller Middle School. Next year, Jordana will be attending Brown University in Rhode Island.

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 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.

TAMER SHAABAN

Tamer Shaaban, a developer from Georgia Tech turned filmmaker, humanitarian, and entrepreneur, is the Creative Director at Mantis Films: an organization that uses technology and film to bring subject matter to the table to speak out against social

injustices; not pertaining to any one culture or religion.

His work and critically acclaimed films have landed him on YSA’s list of 25 Most Influential

and Powerful Young People in the World as well as Microsoft’s MVP Leadership Award and

more. His ability to neutralize even the most difficult topics for audiences of all ages to

discuss and invoke emotion has contributed heavily to the spread of his work, for which he has been awarded, as well as a spot at many film festivals. Best known for his viral work

with the Egyptian Revolution, he went on to tackle issues on sexual harassment, corporate citizenship, and women’s rights globally.

In 2012, Tamer worked with Lamborghini in Atlanta to create an experimental short film that harnessed cloud technology, allowing his team and him to only ever meet during a twelve hour window where they filmed with a budget of under $500. He has since worked with Microsoft on various films and cutting edge technology which are slated for release later this year.

NAUREEN SHAH

Naureen Shah is a lecturer-in-law and the Acting Director of the Human Rights Clinic at Columbia

Law School. She is co-author of two reports on drone strikes: "The Civilian Impact of Drones" with the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) and "Counting Drone Strike Deaths," a study of civilian casualty estimates in news media. She is also the Associate Director of the Counterterrorism & Human Rights Project at the law school's Human Rights Institute and has recently conducted

research and advocacy on related issues such as terrorism prosecutions in the United States,

national security detention practices and torture.

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.

SHARI SILBERSTEIN

Shari Silberstein is Executive Director of Equal Justice USA. She is a nationally recognized leader in

the movement to end the death penalty and has helped end the death penalty in five states since 2007. She played a central role in developing and uniting the movement around a cohesive national strategy and has helped more than two-dozen state campaigns to become more effective and achieve their goals. Many of the strategies and messages that Shari developed for the first successful repeal campaigns have now become the standard across the movement. Under Shari’s leadership, EJUSA has grown more than tenfold since 2004 and has expanded its mission to transform the criminal justice system into one that is responsive to everyone impacted by crime. Prior to joining the staff of Equal Justice USA, Shari worked as the Programs Director for the Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC). She has a Bachelor's Degree in Film, Television, and Radio from New York University and a Master's Degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She is also a former filmmaker, a swing dancer, and plays the electric bass.

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.

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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 human rights defender, 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).

SOFIA SNOW

Sofía Snow is an artist, educator, and community organizer who has the ability to see where there is lacking, and to create. In 2006, Sofía was titled the Spoken Word Artist of the Year by the Massachusetts Industry Committee Hip Hop Awards, soon after she was nominated as the youth representative of Mayor Thomas Menino’s Hip Hop Round Table. This was just the beginning for Sofía, who at age 16, began teaching spoken word workshops for her peers as a tool to spread consciousness.

Since then, Sofía had the opportunity to travel, perform, and tour in Panama, Costa Rica, and Jamaica, as well as Orlando, Albuquerque, Seattle, Chicago, Washington DC, and various other cities

across the US. Most recently, Sofia was acknowledged as Cosmopolitan Magazine's Fun Fearless

Female for April 2013. Her true passion is the holy trinity of youth work, arts, and social justice. She is the co-founder of the Not Enough Mics Collaborative and looks forward to releasing an anthology in June 2013. For more information, visit sofiasnow.com.

KALINDA STEPHENSON

Kalinda Stephenson has worked for Congressman Frank R. Wolf since 2010 where she serves as

legislative assistant and committee staffer focusing on his position as co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC). Ms. Stephenson focuses on a range of topics including human rights, international religious freedom and foreign policy issues. Prior to working for Rep. Wolf, she was working in El Salvador as an international buyer for a private company. Ms. Stephenson has a B.A. in Government and Politics and minor in Portuguese from the University of

Maryland, College Park.

KARIMA TANFOUS

Karima Tanfous is a Tunisian lawyer who has been a member of the Tunisian Bar Association since

2005, and an advocate at the Court of Appeal since 2009. She studied law at the Faculty of Juridical, Political and Social Sciences of Tunis, University of Carthage where she later served as an Assistant

Professor of private law in academic year2008-2009.

For the past eight years, she has been working in several law firms, specializing in different areas of

practice. From June 2009 to June 2012, she worked in the biggest international law firm in Tunisia as legal counsel.

In the aftermath of the Tunisian revolution, she decided to dedicate her career to the promotion of human rights, and women rights in particular. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2012 and now is student in an LLM Program at UC Davis Law School, specializing in International Law and human rights.

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 young artists and educators.

CARLOS VARGAS

Carlos Vargas came to the U.S. when he was only 2 years old. He calls New York City his home, attending the NYC public school system and now attending the College of Staten Island. He became involved during 2011 joining his brother and other DREAMers from around the country to advocate for the DREAM Act. Last year, Carlos joined the DREAM Action Coalition, a political advocacy group led by undocumented youth, to counter the attack of anti-immigrant candidates in the 2012 election cycle. Carlos crafted and executed a successful national social media campaign that included rapid response video and media against anti-dream candidates, including the "Veto Romney" online campaign. Indeed, out of 9 candidates, DRM helped defeating 7 candidates who opposed the DREAM Act, including Mitt Romney. Carlos is now leading the effort to ensure elected officials are reminded immigration reform must include a humane and practical path not only DREAMers but also parents and the remaining undocumented immigrant community, including LGBTQ families.

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.

DAN WITZ

Dan Witz was born in 1957 in Chicago, Illinois and now lives in New York. Since the 80’s, he is famous for his well-known participation in the Street Art Movement, he looks for night scenes, and depicts a wild and fascinating world. On the first hand, his oil paintings with very fine lines draw a very quiet picture of the suburbs through the absence of soul. On the other hand, he shows bunches of people or animals, dehumanized, alienated, insane, as if they were raised as batteries. Between presence and absence, his paintings always deal with the identity of human beings in modern societies. Throughout the years, he has received various fellowships such as Public Art Fund: In the Public

Realm in 1998 and the New York Foundation of the Arts in 1992 and 2000.

CAPTAIN JASON D. WRIGHT

Captain Jason D. Wright represents two Guantanamo Bay detainees facing trial before the U.S. Military Commissions: U.S. v. Khalid Shaikh Mohammad and U.S. v. Obaidullah. Mr. Mohammad’s capital case is currently in active litigation,and Mr. Obaidullah remains uncharged despite enduring more than 10 years of detention. CPT Wright graduated cum laude from George Mason University’s School of Law in 2004, and clerked for the Honorable Barry R. Poretz for the U.S. District Court for the

Eastern District of Virginia (Alexandria, Division). CPT Wright commissioned as a judge advocate in the U.S. Army in September 2005, and subsequently served tours in Germany and Iraq as an international and operational law advisor, an aide-de-camp to a commanding general, and a trial defense attorney before military courts. In 2010, CPT Wright graduated from the University of Oxford with a Master of Studies (LLM) in international human rights law. In August 2011, CPT Wright was assigned to the Office of the Chief Defense Counsel for the U.S. Military Commissions and now splits his time between their offices in Washington, D.C. and U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. CPT Wright’s military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Airborne Paratroopers Badge, and a 2009 Award for Trial Advocacy from the New York City Bar

Association.

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.