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Each year, the Institute for the Study of Human Rights welcomes a select number of visiting scholars to conduct research on a variety of human rights topics. Past visiting scholars have included federal judges, attorneys, trailblazers in NGO advocacy, academics and medical doctors. These scholars have come from more than 35 countries and form an essential part of ISHR’s global community of human rights researchers, scholars, and advocates.
Prospective scholars and others interested in researching human rights are encouraged to explore the biographies of some of our recent scholars below. Use the tabs below to sort through our scholars by research specialization. Click here for a list of additional visiting scholars.
To learn more about the Visiting Scholars Program and how to apply, click here.
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Helena Kane Finn served as Vice President of the American Council on Germany from September 2010 to September 2017. A career diplomat of the Department of State, she served as Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin (2007 - 2010) and as Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv (2003 - 2007). She has been the Cyrus Vance Fellow in Diplomatic Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York (2002 - 2003). Her seminal article on public diplomacy appeared in the November - December 2003 issue of Foreign Affairs. She has also been Director of the Turkish Studies Program at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (2002).
As Acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (2000 - 2001), Dr. Finn was responsible for the State Department's global academic, professional and youth exchanges, including Fulbright and the International Visitor program. She also oversaw the Office of Cultural Heritage and Preservation.
Helena Kane Finn has served overseas as the Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey (1997 - 2000). Prior to that, she was the Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, Austria (1995 - 1997). She was the Public Affairs Officer and Director of the Amerika Haus in Frankfurt-Main, Germany (1992 - 1995).
She has been the Desk Officer for Greece, Turkey and Cyprus (1989 - 1991), following cultural affairs tours in Lahore and Islamabad, Pakistan (1984 - 1989). Her first diplomatic assignment was to the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey (1981 -1984).
Helena Kane Finn is married to former career diplomat Robert P. Finn, the U.S. Ambassador to Kabul, Afghanistan (2002 - 2003). Ambassador Finn is affiliated with Princeton University. Their son Edward F. Finn is Director of the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. His wife, Anna Humphreys Finn, is an attorney. They have two children.
