Theresa Harris

Executive Director   

 
Theresa Harris became the Executive Director of Human Rights USA in November 2008. Previously, Theresa served as Deputy and International Justice Project Director for the organization. Theresa’s legal advocacy with Human Rights USA builds on years of human rights activism and community organizing. Her previous experience includes coordinating Amnesty International USA’s Middle East Regional Action Network, outreach and publicity as a volunteer for the Florida Center for Survivors of Torture, and teaching English to refugees in Florida through Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement Program. She is a member of the board of directors of Amnesty International USA and a member of OMCT's governing body (General Assembly). Theresa received her J.D. from American University Washington College of Law, where she was a Public Interest/Public Service Scholar, an editor for the Human Rights Brief, and a member of the Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law Student Advisory Board.  She holds a Master of Science in Planning from the University of Tennessee and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology. Theresa is a member of the Maryland Bar. Her legal practice is limited to matters and proceedings before Federal courts and agencies.

Elizabeth Badger

Refugee Project Director 

 
Before joining Human Rights USA in August 2008, Elizabeth worked as the Robert J. Hildreth Fellow at the Political Asylum/ Immigration Representation Project in Boston, MA representing workers arrested in immigration raids, mentoring volunteer attorneys who represent those workers, and assisting other detained immigrants whose rights had been violated.  Elizabeth also worked with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute coordinating Massachusetts immigration experts on projects to protect immigrants' rights, such as monitoring the implementation of 287(g) agreements, teaching communities how to defend themselves against racial profiling, and advocating against state court enforcement of immigration laws.

Prior to her work in Massachusetts, Elizabeth served as an immigration law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 2005 until she joined PAIR in 2007. Elizabeth received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law, where she co-authored a paper for the Palestine Center regarding human rights claims pending before the International Court of Justice. During law school, she received the Massachusetts Bar Foundation Fellowship for her work in political asylum and the Professional Responsibility Award from the Association of Corporate Counsel. Elizabeth is a member of the Massachusetts Bar. Her legal practice is limited to matters and proceedings before Federal courts and agencies.

Lynsay Gott

Refugee Project Attorney & Equal Justice Works Fellow

Lynsay received her J.D. from University of Cincinnati College of the Law, and joined our staff full-time in September 2007 as an Equal Justice Works Fellow after serving as a legal intern with our organization for one year. She has taken a keen interest in the loopholes in U.S. law that limit the availability of asylum protections and mandate the return of some trafficked persons to their countries of origin where they were originally victimized. Her law review comment on this issue, “Unrealistic Burdens: How the T visa and Asylum Law Fail to Protect Many Victims of Trafficking,” was recently published in the Immigration and Nationality Law Review. Her work is focused on establishing asylum protection for trafficked persons. Her Equal Justice Works Fellowship is generously funded by the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson, LLP. Lynsay is a member of the Maryland Bar. Her legal practice is limited to matters and proceedings before Federal courts and agencies.

Staff photos by Jacy L. Youn, International Justice Project Intern, Summer 2009