About Us
Officially installed in August 2025, he is a lawyer duly registered with the Petit-Goâve Bar Association. He was chosen to help perpetuate the legacy of the late human rights defender, Mario JOSEPH. His work consists of providing legal support to survivors of state and systemic violence, ensuring that the BAI remains a committed advocate for Haiti’s most vulnerable populations in a context of persistent national insecurity.
His commitment and sense of responsibility have made him an exemplary lawyer within this organization.
Marie Kattia Dorestant Lefruy is co-director of the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux and a Haitian lawyer and activist who fights for human rights in Haiti. Ms. Dorestant represents victims of gender-based sexual violence, providing legal support to women and girls marginalized by the Haitian justice system. She develops the BAI’s legal strategy to continue advancing its mission of social justice and human rights responsibility in Haiti.
Mr. Gesnel PIERRE is a Haitian lawyer and member of the Port-au-Prince Bar Association, specializing in human rights. He is committed to defending fundamental freedoms and promoting an independent judiciary in Haiti. His professional career has been marked by a constant struggle to combat impunity and strengthen the rule of law, serving the most vulnerable individuals and communities.
Trained in anthropology and business management, he applies an integrated approach to law, combining legal rigor with a deep understanding of social, cultural, and institutional realities. This cross-cutting approach allows him to address human rights violations in Haiti not only from a technical perspective, but also in their historical, cultural and political depth.
He is currently co-director of the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), an organization committed to defending victims of human rights violations in Haiti. In this capacity, he contributes to the implementation of strategic legal actions related to the support and representation of victims of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as the strengthening of mechanisms for access to justice.
Convinced that the law is an essential lever for social transformation, redressing injustices, and rebuilding democracy, Mr. Gesnel PIERRE works for justice that is accessible, independent, and at the service of the Haitian people.
Human rights lawyer and activist Brian Concannon is the Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH). Brian is a trusted voice on human rights in Haiti and US policy to its oldest neighbor, through his writing and speaking to a wide range of audiences. But he is most proud of his work helping Haitian human rights advocates make their own voices heard, from the lawyers at the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux to the victims of the UN cholera in Haiti. Brian lived and worked in Haiti from 1995 to 2004, first with the United Nations, and after 1996 with the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) in Port-au-Prince. He returned to the US to start IJDH in 2004, when a US-supported coup d’etat overthrew Haiti’s elected government and demonstrated that no progress in Haiti would be sustainable unless the US and other powerful countries respected Haitian sovereignty. Brian is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and Middlebury College. He held a Brandeis International Fellowship in Human Rights, Intervention and International Law from 2001-2003, and was a 2005-06 Wasserstein Public Interest Law Fellow at Harvard Law School. Contact: brian@ijdh.org
Alexandra “Sasha” Filippova, Senior Staff Attorney, focuses primarily on accountability for human rights violations; gender justice, including sexual and gender-based violence; and governance in her work at IJDH.
Sasha started her legal career as an associate at Shearman & Sterling LLP, where her practice included international dispute resolution, public international law, and human rights. While there, she served as one of the lead counsel in a successful lawsuit against the Syrian government for its extrajudicial killing of war correspondent Marie Colvin and advised clients on a variety of legal and policy matters, including interstate territorial disputes and UN Security Council reform. Prior to joining IJDH, Sasha served as a Senior Legal Fellow with the Center for Justice and Accountability, where she worked on litigating a crimes against humanity claim; and as a Legal Advisor and Fellow with the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative, where she focused on confronting gender-based violence and promoting women’s empowerment around the globe.
Sasha holds graduate degrees from Georgetown University’s Law Center and Walsh School of Foreign Service, where she focused her studies on human rights and transitional justice, including field work in Liberia and Cambodia. Contact: sasha@ijdh.org
Steve Forester, Immigration Policy Coordinator, leads efforts to win creation of a Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program (FRPP) to speed entry into the U.S. of 110,000 beneficiaries of approved visa petitions, to give parity with DHS’s Cuban FRPP and help Haiti recover by generating additional remittances. He has won support for this from about 100 congresspersons, 10 editorial boards in 17 editorials, the Miami-Dade County Commission, NY and Philadelphia city councils, the US Conference of Mayors, ABA, NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus, MA Gov. Patrick and others. Pre-quake, he secured pro-TPS editorials in major papers and political, legal and media support after devastating 2008 storms. He meets officials and pens op-eds; his January 2009 work won a quiet halt of all non-criminal Haiti deportations formalized by TPS after the quake. A Haiti rights advocate since 1979, he has testified in the Senate, House and other bodies and led the fight to enact the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 (HRIFA), under which 20,000 Haitians became U.S. permanent residents. IJDH has sponsored his work since February 2009. Contact: steveforester@aol.com
Catherine Chang, Development Manager, before assuming her current role, served as Operations Coordinator at IJDH from 2021 to 2023. From 2023 to 2025, she worked at the Center for Justice and Accountability. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where she majored in political science and economics. She is a San Francisco Bay Area native. Contact: catherine@ijdh.org
Development Coordinator Cecilia Needham joins IJDH with over ten years working in and advocating for Haiti. Previously, she served on the Board of Directors of the Road to Hope of Haiti for seven years and worked for Build Health International as External Relations Coordinator. She completed her undergraduate thesis research on State-NGO dynamics and public health in Haiti, pulling from much of IJDH’s scholarship on Rights-Based Development. She is currently completing her Masters in Medical Science in Global Health Delivery at Harvard Medical School. Cecilia is deeply passionate about Haitians’ right to self-determination and true justice and is thus very enthusiastic about joining the IJDH team.
Pamela Merchant currently advises human rights nonprofits on strategy, leadership and governance and provides legal services to public clients. She is the former Executive Director of the Center for Justice and Accountability, the leading U.S. based human rights organization pursuing international human rights abuses through litigation. She previously served as a prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, and as Special Counsel for the California Department of Justice and Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts where she specialized in white collar prosecutions. She has served in leadership positions on numerous human rights and social justice nonprofit boards.
Irwin Stotzky, Esq. is a Professor of Law and Director of the Center for the Study of Human Rights at the University of Miami. He has advised the Haitian and Argentine governments on transitional justice issues, and represented Haitian refugees in U.S. courts. Professor Stotzky has written books on transitional justice in Haiti and Latin America.
Nadia Ben-Youssef is the Advocacy Director at the Center for Constitutional Rights. She directs all advocacy around issues related to the promotion of civil and human rights. Together with the legal, advocacy, and communication teams, Nadia identifies opportunities for the Center for Constitutional Rights to make strategic cultural and political interventions that shift public narrative and policy on our issues. She has expertise in international human rights fora and mechanisms, and extensive experience developing advocacy strategies to influence U.S. decision-makers. Her work often centers at the intersection of art and advocacy, and she curates exhibits and artistic programming that document key human rights concerns, celebrate social movements, and allow creatives the space to chart the future. Prior to coming to the Center for Constitutional Rights, she co-founded the Adalah Justice Project (AJP), a U.S.-based Palestinian advocacy organization that works to transform American discourse and policy on Palestine/Israel. AJP is an outgrowth of her work with Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel where, from 2010, she led international advocacy efforts from Adalah’s field office in the Naqab (Negev) in southern Israel before coming back to the U.S. to develop an American advocacy strategy. Nadia is a member of the New York State Bar, and holds a B.A. in Sociology from Princeton University, and a J.D. from Boston College Law School. In 2018, Nadia received the National Lawyers Guild Rob Doyle Lawyer Award for commitment to social and political justice.
Joia Mukherjee MD, MPH, IJDH Vice President, is the Chief Medical Officer for Partners In Health, since 2000. She is an internist, paediatrician and infectious disease specialist and an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Mukherjee’s clinical focus in resource-poor settings has been HIV/AIDS, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, mental health and most recently, ebola. She builds the capacity of healthcare professionals and emerging leaders in the Global Health Delivery discipline by teaching infectious disease, Global Health Delivery and human rights to health professionals and students from US and international institutions. Dr. Mukherjee serves on the board of directors for Last Mile Health, Village Health Works and Project Muso. She advises many other grassroots organizations in their efforts to deliver health care with a human rights approach to the poorest of the poor. In addition, Dr. Mukherjee consults for the World Health Organization and other international agencies on health systems strengthening, human resources for health, the treatment for HIV and more.
Nicole Lee is a diversity, equity and inclusion expert, leadership coach, nationally recognized speaker and strategist who regularly consults with nonprofits, schools, businesses, political and social movements to improve their climate for themselves and all those that they serve. She is also the founder of Inclusive Life™, a movement centered on infusing inclusion through all levels of daily life, and a co-founder of the Black Movement-Law Project (BMLP), an organization that provides legal and strategy assistance to Movement For Black Lives affiliates and human rights organizations operating in local communities. After graduating with a law degree from the University of Buffalo, she worked for the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux. For nearly a decade she served as President of TransAfrica, working with leaders across the globe to advocate for a just U.S. foreign policy. She is a trusted spokesperson who has given testimony before the U.S. Congress, the United Nations and other international bodies. Nicole has commentated on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and BBC. She has been recognized for her outstanding contributions in the private and public sectors through numerous awards, including Congressional Black Caucus, Running Starts “Women to Watch”, Black Women’s Roundtable TrailBlazer, Global Leadership, and the National Newspapers Publishers Association’s Press Champion Award.
Isemonde Joseph is a dedicated and accomplished medical doctor with a passion for helping others. Despite coming from a poor environment, Isemonde worked hard to become a doctor and received scholarships to study medicine at Louverture Cleary. Isemonde has experience working as an Intern Doctor at Justinian Hospital Cap and as a Medical Doctor at Gheskio in Haiti, where they improved patient outcomes and increased clinic efficiency. Additionally, Isemonde has served as a Physician Coordinator at Partners In Health in Port-au-Prince, overseeing outpatient clinics and organizing lectures and social activities. Isemonde is a member of the HELP Organization and is fluent in Haitian Creole and French. With a strong background in healthcare and a commitment to helping others, Isemonde is a valuable asset to any team. Contact: isemonde@yahoo.fr.
Blaine Bookey is Co-Legal Director at the UC Hastings-based Center for Gender & Refugee Studies where she works to advance protections for survivors of gender-based violence and other forms of persecution. Blaine also coordinates the College’s Haiti Justice Initiative and Chairs the Board of Directors of the international women’s rights organization, MADRE. Previously, Blaine served as a legal fellow with IJDH and BAI and as a federal appellate law clerk. Before attending law school, Blaine worked as an immigration paralegal for several years advocating for many Haitian refugees. The American Constitution Society recognized Blaine for her work on behalf of marginalized communities with the 2016 David Carliner Public Interest Award.
Beatrice Lindstrom is a Clinical Instructor in the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School. Prior to joining Harvard, she worked as a lawyer at IJDH for eight years and BAI for one year. While at IJDH, her work focused on path-breaking advocacy to secure accountability from the UN for causing a devastating cholera epidemic in Haiti. She was lead counsel in Georges v. United Nations, the class action lawsuit brought in the United States on behalf of those injured and killed by cholera. For her work on the cholera case, she received the Zanmi Ayiti Award from the Haiti Solidarity Network of the Northeast and the Recent Graduate Award from the NYU Law Alumni Association. Lindstrom was also previously an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights, and a Haiti country expert for Freedom House. She holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law, where she was a Root-Tilden-Kern public interest scholar, and a B.A. from Emory University.
Charlot Lucien is an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) scholar at the University of Massachusetts (Boston), where he presents lectures focusing on the historical connections between the U.S. and Haiti as part of his Master’s Degree in International Relations. He has presented for years on Haiti’s culture and history in various academic and cultural venues in the U.S., France, Haiti, and Canada, often examining the intersections between the U.S. abolitionist movement and the Haitian revolution (Mapping Haiti Onto the U.S. History). A Haitian storyteller, visual artist, and the founder of the Haitian Artists Assembly of Massachusetts, he often uses art to raise awareness about civil rights and humanitarian issues impacting Haitians in Haiti and abroad and to help change entrenched stereotyped narratives about Haiti.
He holds membership with various civic/humanitarian organizations, including the Groupe of Reflection and Action for a New Haiti (GRAHN), the West African Research Association (WARA), Société des poètes francophones, the Haitian Americans United Inc. (HAU), The National Museum of African American History and Culture, Haiti Projects, etc. He has received several awards for his cultural contributions from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the City of Boston, the Haitian Roundtable 1804 Haitian Americans Changemakers List, and other institutions.
Emie Michaud Weinstock (she/her) is the Founder and Principal of ReveledUp, an event marketing boutique that enables social impact organizations to develop and sustain strong relationships with their target audiences. She specializes in program and organizational development, community and client engagement, and capacity building. Emie holds a J.D. from Northeastern Univ School of Law and has worked domestically and internationally on social, economic, and legal equity initiatives for underserved and vulnerable populations. Her executive volunteering focuses on supporting organizations and individuals striving to empower marginalized communities and dismantle unjust and inequitable systems. She has served on the boards of the Haiti Development Institute, Jean Appolon Expressions, Prosperity Catalyst, and Cambridge Community Television.
Ashley Odilia Armand is the Deputy Director of Community Engagement at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), where she leads rider-centered engagement on fare policies, service changes, and capital projects. She brings a strong commitment to equity, accessibility, and inclusion—working to ensure community-driven outcomes through collaborative partnerships.
Prior to joining the MBTA, Ashley served as an Advocacy Manager at IJDH, advancing protections for immigrant communities and advocating on Capitol Hill for Black immigrants of Caribbean and African descent. She also brings a background in research, with fellowships at Harvard, Northeastern, and Duke, and has led mixed-methods research focused on identity and inclusion. She also worked in higher education championing identity based programming and initiatives that centered student success and wellbeing.
With over ten years of experience as a researcher and organizer in public service, Ashley draws inspiration from the cultural richness of the communities she serves and believes equitable transit is key to building thriving, connected cities.
