Join ISHR for an event designed to jumpstart your career in human rights! This is your opportunity to ask questions directly to professionals in the human rights field. During this "Ask Me Anything" (AMA), students will break into small groups based on job sectors and speak with ISHR alums about their careers, how they got there, and how to break into their respective fields.
When you register for the event, you will select two alums you wish to meet with in small groups. Please be sure to review the speakers' bios and come to this event prepared with a list of informational interview questions.
Noah Smith
Noah is the Human Rights Program Manager at the United Nations Global Compact Network USA, leading initiatives that help over 1,000 American companies integrate ethical business practices. He also serves as Co-Chair of the Emerging Leaders Advisory Board (ELAB) at Human Rights First. Previously, he worked in international policy and behavioral sciences, including roles at OutRight Action International, NUFDI, and Columbia University’s RightsViews. His past research focused on digital rights, global governance, and the neurological processing of fear and reward. Noah holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Maryland and an M.A. in Human Rights Studies from Columbia University.
Anna Jessurun
Anna is the Equal Justice Works Fellow at the
Constitutional Accountability Center, where she focuses on voting rights appellate litigation. Before joining CAC, Anna served as a law clerk for Judge Denise Cote on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Anna graduated from Harvard Law School in 2022, where she was a student attorney in the Election Law Clinic and the Crimmigration Clinic, the Supreme Court Chair of the
Harvard Law Review, and Co-President of the Tenant Advocacy Project. During law school, she interned at the ACLU's Women's Rights Project and The Legal Aid Society's Civil Law Reform Unit. Anna received her undergraduate degree from Columbia University in 2017, where she was a human rights major at ISHR.
Roya Pakzad
Roya Pakzad is the founder of
Taraaz, a nonprofit at the intersection of technology and human rights. She is also a senior fellow in Trustworthy AI at Mozilla Foundation. Previously she has served as a Data & Democracy Fellow at the University of Virginia and held positions at Stanford University and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). With a background in electrical engineering and human rights studies, her expertise spans digital technologies, corporate accountability, and human rights-centered design. Roya's work has been featured in
Financial Times, BBC, CNN, Wired, and
Reuters and recognized through fellowships and awards from the Rockefeller Foundation, Twitter, and Meta. Born in Iran, she now resides in California, USA, and writes the newsletter
Humane AI.
