Pam Bruns
Founder & Executive Director EmeritusPam created the vision for the Student Task Force and organized its co-founders in 1999. Early in her career during the Vietnam War, she traveled to Thailand to research the extent of the communist insurgency in northern border areas; she also was a freelance journalist and wrote about Eastern Europe, the Munich Olympics in 1972, holocaust survivors and other subjects. Pam became a public education reform activist and teacher (third grade through high school) before joining the Milken Family Foundation as a Public Affairs Specialist, working to promote excellence in teaching in the U.S.
From 1996-2002 Pam served as Director of Human Rights Watch in Southern California. She broadened support for HRW in Los Angeles by establishing the Young Advocates, Women’s Rights Committee, HRW University Project and the Student Task Force. As adjunct professor teaching human rights at Mount St. Mary’s College, she founded the Human Rights Film Festival in 2003. Volunteering to direct STF and developing human rights education as part of STF has been Pam’s primary focus since 2005.
Email:stf@hrw.org
Kristin Ghazarians
Senior ManagerKristin is a graduate from Syracuse University’s Public Diplomacy program and University of California, San Diego’s International Studies department. Her background is in international relations, conflict resolution and public relations. She worked for Amnesty International as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office Administrator in Washington, DC, interned with the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland and taught English in Cambodia and Los Angeles. Kristin loves to travel and has spent a lot of time focusing on human rights while abroad. She has dedicated her academic and professional careers to human rights and enjoys working with the STF community.
Email:stf@hrw.org
Jordan Todd
LiaisonJordan has a background in public education and humanitarian assistance with a focus on youth policy and programs. As a graduate of the George Washington University with both a B.A. and M.A. in International Affairs, she interned with UNICEF’s Global Office of Emergency Programmes in Geneva, Switzerland and spent two years working in a field office during UNICEF Philippines’ response to Typhoon Haiyan. Recognizing the need for more direct experience working with youth in her own context, Jordan completed a Master’s in Education and earned her California teaching credential from Stanford University in 2017. For three years she taught 10th and 12th grade social studies courses at Animo Venice Charter High School in Los Angeles. She is thrilled to combine and build on her classroom experience and work in global children’s rights as a member of the Student Task Force team!
Email:stf@hrw.org
Leela Cullity Younger
Administrative AssistantLeela is a Junior at Occidental College in Los Angeles. She is a Diplomacy and World Affairs Major and Critical Theory and Social Justice Minor. Originally from Columbia, Missouri, and having previously worked with the Muslim Public Affairs Council, she is interested in the intersections of Education Policy and Religious Freedom in the United States and Internationally. Leela recently traveled to India to study Hindi intensively through the Critical Language Scholarship but was also given the opportunity to learn about education disparities in North India while abroad. Leela is looking forward to working on such an important initiative as a part of the Student Task Force team!
Email:stf@hrw.org
Jenny Hunken
Fall Youth Advocacy AssistantJenny is a graduate student at the University of Southern California in the Master’s of Public Diplomacy program and is passionate about the power of education, youth development, and intentionally building relationships and mutual understanding to make a positive impact in the world. Prior to graduate school she worked for five years as an admissions officer at Johns Hopkins University working with high school students around the country and world. Jenny earned her Bachelor’s degree from Macalester College where she majored in Political Science and minored in American Studies and was involved in community organizing and student activism. She is excited to continue working with students to help them recognize their own power and impact through her work with Student Task Force!
Email:stf@hrw.org
Sydney Shintani
Spring Youth Advocacy AssistantSydney is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a passion for youth empowerment through civic engagement. During her time at Penn, she worked extensively with West Philadelphia high schools to implement mentorship programming aimed at improving financial literacy and college preparedness. Having earned her degree in criminology, she is especially interested in the impact of educational policy on youth criminal justice outcomes and the implications of this relationship on juvenile justice practices. She aspires to further explore these interests through a future career in impact litigation. Sydney is very excited to continue working with high school students to extend the outreach and impact of the Student Task Force.
Email:stf@hrw.org