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Human Rights Through The Rule of Law

Our Team


Staff


Janet Benshoof, Esq.
President and Founder

Janet Benshoof is internationally recognized for her human rights and constitutional law expertise. She established landmark legal precedents in the U.S. Supreme Court and international forums. Ms. Benshoof spearheaded several successful legal efforts from the approval of emergency contraception for women by the FDA, to the application of international rape law to ensure the rights of women in the Iraq High Tribunal prosecutions of Saddam-era war crimes. She lectures and trains women leaders, judges, parliamentarians, and various UN bodies on implementing international human rights laws, such as CEDAW, and international humanitarian law, including women's rights to criminal accountability under Security Council Resolutions and by the International Criminal Court.

Ms. Benshoof is the recipient of numerous awards and honors including by the National Law Journal as one of the "100 Most Influential Lawyers in America", the prestigious MacArthur Foundation "Genius Award" in recognition of her legal work, the Gloria Steinem Women of Vision Award, the Edith Spivack Award for Outstanding New York Women Lawyers, and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America Margaret Sanger Award.

Ms. Benshoof previously served as Director of the American Civil Liberties Reproductive Freedom Project where she spearheaded national litigation shaping Supreme Court law on gender equality, free speech, and reproductive choice. In 1992, Ms. Benshoof founded the first international human rights organization focused on women's rights to reproductive choice and equality, now the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), and served as its first President.

Ms. Benshoof published numerous articles in respected publications such as the Harvard Law Review and The Journal of the American Medical Association, The New York University Journal of International Law and Policy, and Law Ka Pala, a Journal of The Burma Lawyers' Council. Her forthcoming publications include "Global Justice for the Twenty-First Century: International Legal Issues" for the Encyclopedia of Global Studies, "US Ratification of CEDAW: An Opportunity to Revisit and Reframe the Right to Equality Accorded Women under the US Constitution" for the NYU Review of Law and Social Change, and "The Upcoming Elections in Burma: Increasing Risks to Global Security by Constitutionalizing a Military Monopoly on Nuclear Development" with the Burma Lawyers' Council. She has appeared on the BBC, CBS evening news, Good Morning America, ABC evening news, Nightline, and McNeil /Lehr. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and served on its Burma Task Force.

Ms. Benshoof received her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and taught at Harvard Law School and Bard College.

Phyu Phyu Sann
Burma Researcher

Phyu Phyu Sann carries out a wide range of research on Burma on legal, political, constitutional and gender related issues. She collaborates with key partners, including Burmese and ethnic groups, women's groups, UN agencies, and Human Rights NGOs as part of the GJC's project on Criminal Accountability for Heinous Crimes in Burma, which aims to uphold international commitments to the rule of law.

Ms. Sann joined the Global Justice Center in 2006 as a research intern. Prior, Ms. Sann earned her Master of Arts in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management at the School for International Training (SIT) in Brattleboro, Vermont. Prior to her studies at SIT, Ms. Sann has also worked in the field of social, economic and project related research for local and international NGOs in Burma.

Ms. Sann received her MBA from the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand and her BA from Yangon University with a concentration in International Relations. She was also a recipient of the scholarship from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) for her MBA degree and Fujitsu Asia Pacific Scholarship for Intercultural Management Program at the Japan American Institute of Management Sciences, Honolulu, Hawaii. Ms. Sann is a native of Rakhine (Arakan), in the western part of Burma.


Akila Radhakrishnan
Staff Attorney

Akila Radhakrishnan is a Staff Attorney at the Global Justice Center working on US engagement with international law. Akila is a graduate of the University of California, Hastings College of Law with a concentration in International Law. During her tenure at Hastings, Akila was the Executive Editor of the International & Comparative Law Journal and a member of the Negotiation & Mediation Team. Akila co-authored Israel's Invasion of Gaza in International Law, which appeared in the fall 2009 University of Denver Journal of International Law and Policy. In 2008, Akila was an intern on the Defense Team for General Momcilo Perisic, the chief of the Federal Yugoslav Army at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. In 2009, she was awarded the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in International Human Rights.


Julaine Eberhard
Geneva Project Consultant

Julaine Eberhard is a longtime international justice advocate with wide-ranging experience and professional skills. Julaine coordinated the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women of Burma held on March 2, 2010 in New York City. A joint project of the Nobel Women's Initiative and Women's League of Burma, the Tribunal was designed as an advocacy tool to raise international awareness about - and demand accountability for - human rights violations, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Burma. Julaine joined the Nobel Women's Initiative in May 2009 after practicing civil and child protection law in Toronto. She had previously worked in Vancouver, representing First Nations clients in the only legal clinic in Canada to exclusively serve Aboriginal Canadians. In Ottawa, she worked as a legal researcher at the federal Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Before becoming a lawyer in 2007, Julaine earned a Ph.D., focusing her doctoral work on international justice and conflict resolution, and served as Finance Manger at Shared Interest, a New York-based international development NGO that works with South Africans, particularly women, to overcome the legacy of economic apartheid through micro-credit initiatives. Among many volunteer efforts, since 2008, Julaine has been an active member of the Canadian Center for International Justice, where she promotes human rights and accountability through its legal working group projects. Julaine is a member of the New York and Ontario bars.



Stephanie Johanssen
Geneva Project Legal Research and Communications Fellow

Stephanie Johanssen is the Geneva Project Legal Research and Communications Fellow at the Global Justice Center. Born and raised in Germany she has worked for the Center for European Integration Studies as a student assistant. After graduating from law school at the University of Bonn, she started working for a law firm in Bonn focusing on public law. During her practical legal training Stephanie was an assistant to two judges at the Higher Court of Koblenz and worked for several law firms. Furthermore she absolved a legal internship at the Environment Protection Agency in New York. Before becoming a Communications Fellow at the GJC, Stephanie was an outreach officer for the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where she was responsible for implementing the campaign Calling African Female Lawyers, a campaign aimed at increasing the number of female counsel practicing before the Court.


Natasha Roland
Development and Communications Associate

Natasha Roland serves as Development and Communications Associate at the Global Justice Center. She spent two years as an Executive Assistant to Congresswoman Grace F. Napolitano in the 38th Congressional district office in Southern California. More recently, Ms. Roland was a Community Organizer and Program Assistant at Voices of Women Organizing Project, working to improve the institutions survivors of domestic violence turn to for safety and justice in New York City. Natasha attended community college prior to graduating from George Washington University in 2008 with a BA in International Affairs and a minor in Political Science.


Stephanie Olszewski
Operations Assistant

Stephanie Olszewski serves as the Operations Assistant at the Global Justice Center. She spent three years assistant managing an art gallery in Brooklyn before moving to the non-profit world. Originally from Pittsburgh, Stephanie graduated from New York University with a B.A. double majoring in Art History and Journalism with a minor in Spanish.


J. Rachel Reyes
Law Fellow

J. Rachel Reyes received her Juris Doctorate from the University of San Francisco, California, and is an admitted attorney to the State Bar of California. Focusing on women's rights and displacement, Rachel has: analyzed protections and gaps in India's Protection from Domestic Violence Act while clerking for Human Rights Law Network in Bangalore, India; drafted motions and organized high-level conferences with the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population at the Council of Europe; lobbied United Nations delegates to include protections for refugee and internally displaced women at the 53rd Session on the Commission on the Status of Women for Human Rights Advocates; spearheaded fundraising campaigns to fund legal aid programs in Thailand and Ecuador for Asylum Access; compiled country information on implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 for Make Every Woman Count; and assisted the rebuild of PeaceWomen Project to better provide news, resources and events surrounding issues of women, peace and security. Rachel also authored "Deliver Us from our Protectors: Accountability for Violations Committed by Humanitarian Aid Staff Against Refugee Women and Children" which was published in the summer 2009 edition of the University of San Francisco Law Review. To enhance and broaden her legal training, Rachel is currently completing her master's degree in International Affairs at The New School, concentrating on conflict and security and governance and rights.


Cristian Gonzalez
Executive Assistant

Cristian Gonzalez currently serves as the Assistant to the President of the Global Justice Center. Born in Guatemala City and raised in New York, Mr. Gonzalez graduated from Columbia University in 2010, where he doubled majored in History (Modern European) and French and Francophone Studies (with a focus on North Africa). During his time at Columbia, Mr. Gonzalez was a member of Amnesty International, an editor of the Columbia Undergraduate Journal of History, and an editorial intern at Dissent Magazine. As an undergraduate, Mr. Gonzalez also had the opportunity to study in Tunis on a U.S. State Department Critical Language Scholarship, as well as study abroad in Paris for a year and take classes at Sciences Po. Upon graduation, Mr. Gonzalez moved to Berlin where he studied German and interned at the European Union Office of the German parliament.


Board of Directors


Robert Bason
Board Chair

Robert Bason retired in 2005 as president of Charitable Funding Services, a fundraising consulting company specializing in capital campaigns, annual funds and planned giving/endowment programs. Over his 40 years in fundraising work, clients included universities and colleges, schools, medical research institutions, museums, symphonies, churches and social service agencies. Mr. Bason is the author of numerous articles on fundraising and has written fundraising solicitation materials and literature for hundreds of clients.

Before founding his own company in 1974, Mr. Bason was Assistant Chancellor for Development and University Relations at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and was the architect of the University's $107 million campaign - the first in the University of California system. He also completed a three-year appointment (1993-96) in New York City as Group Vice President for Development and Marketing of the national office of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, where he was responsible for raising $111 million over the three-year campaign period.Mr. Bason is a graduate of Wheaton College and Fuller Theological Seminary.

Tamara Quinn
Board Member

Ms. Quinn holds Bachelors Degrees in Accounting and Mathematics, as well as a Masters of Business Administration. She attended the American School and the Al-Mustansiryah University in Baghdad, Iraq and Murray State University, University of Evansville, and University of Phoenix in the U.S.

Ms. Quinn is the founder and Executive Director of Generation Iraq, an NGO established to provide opportunity, education, and motivation to the youth in Iraq. With Generation Iraq, Tamara has expanded the School Partners Program, where she also served as Director. The mission of Generation Iraq is to bring optimism and hope to the young people of Iraq and it is Tamara's belief that this is a key factor, over the next 15 years, to allow Iraq to develop and assume a respected position in the world community.

Tamara is a member, co-founder, and Director of the Women's Alliance for a Democratic Iraq (WAFDI), an NGO that aims to help Iraqi women. In that capacity she has also been involved in democratic development and ensuring women's voice in the Iraqi transitional justice process. She is also a founding board member of the Global Justice Center.

A 20 year veteran of the energy industry in Tennessee, Ms. Quinn is an experienced businesswoman, though in recent years she has focused her efforts primarily on Iraq and specifically, the effort to bring human rights and equality to the women and children of Iraq. Ms. Quinn has returned to Baghdad several times over the past few years, including as a member of the Iraqi Reconstruction and Development Council. She has also worked with the U.S. Department of Defense to help tutor and prepare National Guard troops and their families, in advance of their deployment to Iraq. She has been part of several speaking tours and media projects, talking about women's issues in Iraq.

Anne Firth Murray
Board Member

Anne Firth Murray joins the Global Justice Center with an impressive breadth of knowledge and experience in human rights advocacy. A New Zealander, she was educated at the University of California and New York University in economics, political science, and public administration, with a focus on international health policy and women's reproductive health. For the past twenty-five years, she has worked in the field of philanthropy. From 1978 to the end of 1987, she directed the environment and international population programs of the Hewlett Foundation in California. She is the Founding President of The Global Fund for Women and is currently a Consulting Professor in Human Biology at Stanford University.

Ms. Murray serves on several boards and councils of non-profit organizations, including the African Women's Development Fund, Commonweal, GRACE (a group working on HIV/AIDS in East Africa), Hesperian Foundation, and UNNITI (a women's foundation in India). She is the recipient of many awards and honors for her work on women's health and philanthropy, and in 2005 she was nominated as one of a group of 1,000 women for the Nobel Peace Prize. Her recent books are: Paradigm Found: Leading and Managing for Positive Change and From Outrage to Courage: Women Taking Action for Health and Justice.

Jim Minow
Board Member

James Minow is a fundraising and communications executive in the areas of health care, medical research, and higher education. Since 2005 Jim has served as the Chief Development Officer of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the largest privately-funded research organization to discover treatments to end blindness and vision loss caused by genetic retinal disease. The Columbia, Maryland-based Foundation funds 17 major research centers around the world and more than 150 investigators.

Prior to his work with the Foundation Fighting Blindness, Jim served a nine-year tenure as the Vice President of Development at the national office of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in New York, where he doubled fundraising achievement and created the award-winning internet site, teenwire.com. Jim was a founder and President of the Pacific Group, an organization managing turn key annual giving programs at more than 20 colleges and universities, principally in the Western States. He began his career as a communications executive as Associate Publisher of Beverly Hills Magazine before serving in several communications and fundraising roles at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His is vice president and secretary of JWM Corp, a small investment holding company. Jim is a graduate of UCSB.

John Washburn
Board Member

Mr. Washburn is Convener of the American Non-governmental Organizations Coalition on the International Criminal Court (AMICC), a program of the United Nations Association of the USA, the nation's largest grassroots foreign policy organization and leading center of policy analysis and public outreach on the United Nations. Mr. Washburn, in addition to serving as Convener of AMICC, also directs UNA-USA's other activities concerned with the Court, and serves as Co-Chairman of the Washington Working Group on the International Criminal Court. As a consultant with the International Coalition of Non-Governmental Organizations for the International Criminal Court, he has attended most of the United Nations negotiations on the International Criminal Court since 1994 including all of the 1998 diplomatic conference in Rome. Mr. Washburn writes and speaks frequently on the United Nations. His most recent publications are articles on relations between the United Nations and the United States in the January-April 1996 issue of Global Governance and on the negotiation of the treaty for the International Criminal Court in the January-March 1999 issue of the same journal.

Mr. Washburn was a director in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations between January 1988 and April 1993, and thereafter served as a director in the Department of Political Affairs at the United Nations until March 1994. Mr. Washburn was a member of the Foreign Service of the United States from 1963 to 1987. His last assignment at the State Department was membership on the Policy Planning Staff responsible for international organizations and multilateral affairs. He held a variety of assignments in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, each covering different aspects of the work of international organizations and a variety of multilateral issues. He also conceived, helped to establish and was Deputy Director of an office in that Bureau to further the coordination of American bilateral and multilateral diplomacy. During his service in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, he was a member of United States delegations to various sessions of the United Nations General Assembly, Economic and Social Council, Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and Committee for Programme and Coordination. He was Night Shift Chairman of the Iran Hostage Task Force in 1979.

Pamela Maraldo
Board Member

Dr. Pamela Maraldo is an American executive. The managing partner of PJM Associates, a strategy consulting firm, she consults across a wide range of health care concerns including pharmaceutical companies, healthcare delivery systems and national membership organizations.

Dr. Maraldo also served as Chief Executive Officer of two national organizations, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the National League for Nursing. She served as the Interim Executive Director of Girls Inc. of New York City.

Janet Benshoof
Board Member

President and Founder of the Global Justice Center. Bio found here


Special thanks to Debbie Sharnak and Keya Advani for all of their work in creating this website.