Announcing the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights 2026-27 Fellows

August 7, 2026

By Meg Foley Yoder

Photo grid displaying the headshots of the 43 Carr-Ryan fellows for the 2026-27 year

The Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights is pleased to welcome its 2026–27 cohort of forty-three fellows, bringing together a remarkable breadth of experience and perspective on some of the most consequential human rights challenges of our time.

This year’s fellows bring deep experience in law, public policy, diplomacy, technology, journalism, academia, public health, advocacy, and community organizing. Their work spans regions and communities around the world and addresses issues ranging from democratic governance, racial justice, migration, and LGBTQI+ rights to emerging technologies, digital rights, public health, and the role of U.S. foreign policy in advancing human rights.

Throughout the academic year, the fellows will enrich the intellectual life of Harvard Kennedy School while advancing research and projects grounded in their professional experience. They will engage with HKS students and faculty through public events and Center programming, lead study groups that bring practitioner perspectives into the classroom, and pursue research in conversation with the broader HKS community. Through these exchanges, the Center and its fellows deepen HKS’ commitment to human rights and help ensure that future leaders leave HKS prepared to recognize and address the human rights dimensions of the public challenges they will confront.

Human Rights & U.S. Foreign Policy Senior Fellows

Focusing on advancing human rights as a central pillar of U.S. foreign policy by connecting experienced practitioners with the next generation of public leaders.

Paul Angelo

Former U.S. Defense Department official and Latin America policy expert

Tom Andrews

Former U.S. Congressman and UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur

Anne Boyajian

Former Freedom House President and human rights policy leader

Matthew Bugher

Harvard Southeast Asia Human Rights Project research director and international human rights law expert

Anna Cave

International justice lawyer, atrocity prevention expert, and former senior policymaker

Kelly Fay Rodríguez

Former U.S. Special Representative for International Labor Affairs

Jessica Stern

Jessica is also a Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Senior Fellow

Former U.S. Special Envoy and LGBTQI+ human rights leader

Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Fellows

Advancing LGBTQI+ human rights globally by connecting leading advocates, practitioners, and researchers with opportunities to strengthen policy, advocacy, and practice in collaboration with the Weatherhead Research Cluster on Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights.

Rachel Levine

Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Senior Fellow
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health, Admiral (Ret.) USPHS, and physician

Rémy Bonny

Forbidden Colours Executive Director and LGBTQI+ human rights leader

Jasmin Lilian Diab

Migration Studies Institute Director and forced migration and refugee rights scholar

Imani Alpha

Afrofuturist storyteller and narrative justice strategist

Harleen Kaur

Jindal University professor, psychologist, and transgender human rights scholar

Francisco Ruiz

Former Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy and public health equity leader

Kimberly Zieselman

Former U.S. Special Envoy Senior Advisor and intersex rights leader

Carr-Ryan Fellows

Scholars and practitioners pursuing a broad range of human rights work, bringing diverse expertise and perspectives that advance the Center’s mission and enrich the HKS community.

Nicolás Albertoni

Former Uruguayan Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and foreign policy scholar

Yousur Al-Hlou

Former New York Times visual journalist documenting war crimes and human rights

Mattan Berner-Kadish

West Bank human rights practitioner and documentary storyteller

Bineta Diop

Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Women, Peace, and Security and Senegalese women’s rights activist

Reid Jewett Smith

Disability:IN Research & Policy VP and disability inclusion leader

Bahman Khodadadi

Islamic law, human rights, and Middle East legal scholar

Rasha Khoury

Pediatrician and health equity and human rights advocate

Marie Plaisime

Public health researcher specializing in AI and human rights

Khatuna Salukvadze

Former Georgian Ambassador and democracy and international security strategist

Sarah Zoen

Human rights and sustainability practitioner focused on responsible business

Racial Justice Fellows

Advancing racial justice by supporting research that connects domestic civil rights to global human rights frameworks and strengthens efforts to confront systemic racism and inequality.

Subini Ancy Annamma

Stanford University professor and disability and youth justice advocate

Gerald Higginbotham

University of Virginia professor studying race, rights, and public policy

Jessica Jackson

REFORM Alliance CEO and bipartisan criminal justice reform leader

Chezare A. Warren

Vanderbilt University professor studying race, Black youth wellbeing, and education

Technology & Human Rights Fellows

Examining how emerging technologies are reshaping human rights, supporting research that addresses their potential to both advance human rights and pose new challenges to democracy, accountability, and individual freedoms.