Human Rights First CEO to speak at Purdue Sept. 7

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Elisa Massimino from Human Rights First will talk about the United States' role in global human rights on Sept. 7 at Purdue University.

Massimino will present "U.S. Leadership on Global Human Rights" from 5-6 p.m. in Beering Hall, Room 2290. A reception will follow from 6-7 p.m. in Beering Hall, Room 2243. Both events are free and open to the public.

Massimino is president and CEO of Human Rights First, an independent advocacy and action organization based in New York, Washington, D.C., and Houston. The organization was established in 1978 and is a global leader on human rights.

The event is to recognize the College of Liberal Arts' new human rights program and minor, a multidisciplinary initiative housed in the Department of Philosophy. A booth with information about Purdue's program also will be located on the Memorial Mall from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 7.

"Elisa Massimino will show why human rights can play a critical role in breaking down boundaries between academic disciplines and between diverse political perspectives," said Antonia Syson, associate professor of classics and an affiliated faculty member in human rights. "Human Rights First has an exceptional track record in bringing human rights principles to bear on U.S. policy by building effective coalitions. Its current work addresses human trafficking, refugee policy, closing Guantanamo, and LGBT rights."

Massimino joined Human Rights First as a staff attorney in 1991 to help establish the Washington office. From 1997 to 2008 she served as the organization's Washington director. Massimino has a distinguished record of human rights advocacy in Washington. As a national authority on human rights law and policy, she has testified before Congress dozens of times and writes frequently for mainstream publications and specialized journals. Since 2008, the influential Washington newspaper The Hill has consistently named her one of the most effective public advocates in the country.  

Massimino also serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, where she teaches human rights advocacy, and has taught international human rights law at the University of Virginia and refugee law at the George Washington University School of Law. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the bar of the United States Supreme Court.

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Sources: Antonia Syson, asyson@purdue.edu

Rebekah Klein-Pejšová, program director and an associate professor of history, rkleinpe@purdue.edu