The Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights at the Harvard Kennedy School is proud to announce the appointment of Jessica Stern as Senior Fellow. She will be the first senior fellow focused on LGBTQI+ human rights in the history of the Carr-Ryan Center and the Kennedy School.
Jessica Stern is one of the world’s most distinguished LGBTQI+ human rights leaders. Appointed by President Joe Biden, Stern served as the U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Persons, where she led U.S. foreign policy efforts to combat violence and discrimination against LGBTQI+ people globally. She is also the former Executive Director of Outright International and a co-founder of the United Nations LGBTI Core Group.
“Jessica has spent her career as a leader in the protection and advancement of human rights for LGBTQI+ people around the world,” said Maggie Gates, Executive Director of the Carr-Ryan Center. “We are thrilled to bring her to the Carr-Ryan Center as a Senior Fellow, where she will be a fantastic mentor for HKS students and a strong voice to add to our broader community.”
In this role, Stern will be joining the Carr-Ryan Center’s Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Program, where she will lead new initiatives and participate in the teaching and training of global LGBTQI+ activists through the program’s advocacy curriculum, international convenings, and public engagements.
“I am extremely excited about the impact of having Jessica’s contributions to our teaching and training programs and projects working with LGBTQI+ human rights practitioners all around the world,” said Diego García Blum, Director of the Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Program at the Carr-Ryan Center.
“Jessica has been one of our leading human rights defenders on the frontlines of the struggle for decades,” says Dr. Timothy Patrick McCarthy, Lecturer on Education and Public Policy and Faculty Chair of the Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Program. “As someone who combines a deep background in movement organizing, a distinguished record of government service, and a demonstrated commitment to LGBTQI+ human rights and participatory democracy, Jessica Stern is a unique voice in our world. We are absolutely delighted to have her join our ranks as Senior Fellow at the Carr-Ryan Center and the Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Program–especially at this challenging and urgent moment in history.”
Stern brings a distinctive blend of frontline human rights experience and senior government leadership. Her work has ranged from opposing some of the world’s most repressive laws to securing policy wins through multilateral institutions such as the UN and the Organization of American States. Her appointment reflects the growing recognition that public policy must evolve to meet the specific needs of LGBTQI+ communities throughout the globe.
“I am thrilled that Jessica Stern will join us for the important work that we have started to ensure that LGBTQI+ people are protected in the human rights domain,” says Dr. Mathias Risse, Berthold Beitz Professor of Human Rights, Global Affairs and Philosophy and Faculty Director of the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights. “Given her enormous experience, I really could not think of a better person with whom to advance this work further."
As part of her fellowship, Stern will engage in research, public events, and convenings focused on global LGBTQI+ policy development and human rights.
“I am thrilled by this appointment,” says Stern, “because the faculty, staff and students of the Harvard Kennedy School help shape some of the most pressing policy concerns of the day. In particular, the Carr-Ryan Center and its Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Program foster scholarship to bring the most marginalized people into the center of policy debates. There has never been a more urgent time to incubate new ideas and bolster a world where we leave no one behind.”
More about Jessica Stern
Jessica Stern served as the Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Persons under President Biden. As Special Envoy, she led U.S. foreign policy efforts to protect LGBTQI+ people from violence and discrimination worldwide. She worked to free LGBTQI+ people from arbitrary detention, opposed some of the world’s most repressive laws, set the policy for the Global Equality Fund, and supported the codification of equal rights globally. She was the first human rights expert to serve in this role for the U.S. and one of just five Special Envoys for LGBTQI+ rights worldwide.
Before joining the Department of State, Stern led Outright International as Executive Director for a decade. At Outright, she released annual human rights reports, trained human rights defenders, built the world’s largest COVID LGBTQI+ grantmaking program, and quintupled its budget. Her career has also included fellowships at Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Stern has a long history of multilateral engagement. She co-founded the United Nations LGBTI Core Group and led its secretariat, provided the first LGBTQI+ rights expert testimony in a UN Security Council Arria, and campaigned for Human Rights Council resolutions leading to the establishment and continuity of the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Stern also helped lead the LGBTI Core Group of the Organization of American States during the US tenure as chair.
Stern’s writing has been cited in the landmark cases of Karen Atala Riffo vs. Chile and Navtej Singh Johar & Ors. v. Union of India. She is the recipient of numerous honors, including from the Department of State, Women’s eNews, Crane’s New York Business, and Metropolitan Community Church.
Stern teaches the first and only LGBTQI+ rights course at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. She is a co-founder and principal of the Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice, a new initiative consisting of former ambassadors, special representatives, and special envoys advocating for human rights, inclusive development, and global justice in U.S. foreign policy.
