Steve W. Hawkins
Executive Director, Amnesty International USA

The Monterey Institute is pleased to welcome the Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, Steve W. Hawkins, to the 4th Annual Human Rights Fair. The Fair is organized and spearheaded by the student-led MIIS Chapter of Amnesty International, and Dr. Jan Knippers-Black, professor, life-long human rights advocate, and Amnesty International Board member since 2011.

Steve W. Hawkins will deliver the keynote address on Friday, April 11 at 6:00 p.m. in the Irvine Auditorium at the Institute’s downtown Monterey Campus. Hawkins’ address, titled “Bringing Human Rights Home,” will be followed by a reception in the lobby of the McCone Building. Both the keynote address and reception are free and open to the public.

Before joining Amnesty International USA as its Executive Director, Steven W. Hawkins was the Executive Vice President and Chief Program Officer of the NAACP. He is a nationally renowned attorney and grassroots advocacy leader at the forefront of social justice issues, including death penalty abolition, criminal justice reform and defending civil liberties. As an attorney, he brought litigation that led to the release of three teenagers wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death row in Tennessee. He was also a law professor in South Africa during apartheid, teaching black lawyers who faced discriminatory treatment in the courts. Steven obtained his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and New York University.