Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

Research Assistants & Dean's Fellows

The Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law offers students diverse opportunities to spend a summer, semester or year conducting research, supporting our programs, and exploring critical human rights issues while earning academic credit with a distinguished group of peers.

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Meet Our 2021 Research Assistants

joe mitchell

Joe Mitchell is a summer research assistant with the Center's Impact Litigation Project. He is a 2L J.D./M.A. candidate at AUWCL, where he focuses on international law and civil conflict. While at AUWCL, as part of his work with the Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG), Mr. Mitchell participated in writing a draft peace agreement for the Syrian civil war. Also with PILPG, he collaborated in drafting a handbook to provide strategies for clients who are engaged in peace negotiations regarding the inclusion of justice and accountability mechanisms. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

paulina lucio maymon

Paulina Lucio Maymon was a research assistant at the Center. Her research interests focus on international human rights, gender issues, intersectionality, and criminal justice. Prior to joining Washington College of Law, Paulina worked as a research associate at the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide and served as a paralegal for the Mexican Capital Legal Assistance Program. She worked on post-conviction litigation of death penalty cases in the United States and Tanzania and conducted research on the application of the death penalty around the globe. As a Fulbright scholar, she earned a Master of Public Administration from Cornell University, where she served as Managing Editor of the Cornell Policy Review. She graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.

Thea Cabrera montejo

Thea Cabrera Montejo is a 2L at American University Washington College of Law. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in Sociology. Thea is a first-generation immigrant, college student, and law student with roots in Southern California and Cebu, Philippines. She is currently a member of the Justice Initiative, a year-long pilot project spearheaded by Harvard Law School’s Systemic Justice Project and Howard University School of Law’s Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center. At AUWCL, Thea is a staff member of the Human Rights Brief and currently serves on the Center's Student Advisory Board. Thea is interested in the legal strategies and tactics used to stand in solidarity with people who have been disenfranchised by legal systems.

courtney veneri

Courtney Veneri is a research assistant with the Impact Litigation Project. She is a 2L J.D./M.A. candidate at AUWCL. While at AUWCL, Ms. Veneri was selected to participate in the Kovler Project Against Torture, and served in the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition and the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. She also spent a year with the National Immigrant Women's Advocacy Project. Prior to law school she spent four years working with Middle Way House, a domestic violence and rape crisis center. After graduation, she joined the Peace Corps, serving from 2017-2019 in Botswana. She holds a B.A. in International Human Rights Law and Journalism, with a minor in French from Indiana University.

Ira Papagjika

Ira Papagjika is a research assistant with the Center. She is an LL.M. student in International Legal Studies Program at AUWCL. From 2019-2020, she was a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at AUWCL and engaged with the Center for Human Rights in several different activities. She is a lawyer with over 13 years experience spent serving in the Public Administration of Albania, most recently holding the position of deputy commissioner within the Office of the Albanian Ombudsman. In 2017, she was awarded a fellowship from the European Fund for the Balkans and graduated from an intensive program on European Law and Economics from Riga Graduate School of Law. She holds an M.A. double degree in Democracy and Human Rights from Sarajevo and Bologna University and a law degree from University of Tirana, Albania.

Meet Our Former Research Assistants

nia langley

Nia Langley is a summer research assistant with the Center, supporting the work of the International Code of Conduct Association. She is a 2L J.D./M.A. candidate at AUWCL. While at AUWCL, Ms. Langley was selected to participate as a researcher for the Public International Law & Policy Group, focusing on tribunal mechanisms in Sudan. She also serves as the Director of Community Service and Social Advocacy for AUWCL's Black Law Student Association. Prior to law school, she worked as an intern with White Schneider PC in Lansing, Michigan. For several years, Ms. Langley has run her own visual content business, consulting with organizations and individuals on issues related to social media and communications outreach. She holds a B.A. in English and Professional Writing, with a minor in Political Science from Oakwood University.

Stephanie Herrmann

Stephanie Herrmann is a research assistant with the Anti-Torture Initiative. She is a 3L at AUWCL with an interest in human rights. She is a member of the Moot Court Honor Society and participated in the Center’s Kovler Project Against Torture. She holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and an MSc in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies from the London School of Economics (LSE). Prior to law school, Ms. Herrmann served as the Inaugural Research Fellow at the Perry World House and as a Graduate Humanitarian Consultant at LSE.

Effie Acevedo Guasp

Effie Acevedo Guasp was a research assistant with the Initiative on Transparency and Election Monitoring, supporting research on the Inter-American Human Rights System. She is currently pursuing an LL.M. in Advocacy at AUWCL and earned her J.D. from the University of Puerto Rico. She previously worked as a judicial law clerk at the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and earned a B.A. in Economics and Journalism from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. Ms. Acevedo Guasp is fluent in Spanish.

Madison Bingle

Madison Bingle was a research assistant with the Initiative on Land Tenure and Indigenous Rights and works as part of a team supporting the UN Special Rapporteur to the human rights of situations in Myanmar. She is a second-year dual degree candidate in law and international affairs (J.D./LL.M.) at AU’s School of International Service and Washington College of Law, with an interest in human rights and humanitarian law. Ms. Bingle is a Deputy Editor with the Human Rights Briefand is a member of the Center’s 2020 Student Advisory Board. Prior to law school, she served as a Fulbright Fellow in Vietnam and worked for an NGO that provides resources to victims of war. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and History from Coker University.

Jasmine Dohemann

Jasmine Dohemann was a research assistant with the Impact Litigation Project, supporting an initiative with the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. She is a 3L at AUWCL with an interest in criminal law. She is a Technical Editor for the American University Business Law Review and participates in AUWCL’s Criminal Justice Clinic. She has also served as a Project Fellow with the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project and is involved with the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association. Ms. Dohemann received her B.A. in International Studies with a concentration in Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Peace, and Security from the University of Washington. She speaks Mandarin and Shanghainese.

Khatia Mikadze

Khatia Mikadze was a research assistant with the Impact Litigation Project, supporting an initiative with the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. She is a 3L at AUWCL from Tbilisi, Georgia. She serves as a Co-Director of AUWCL’s International Refugee Assistance Project chapter and is a member of the Student Public Interest Board and the Diversity Committee of the American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & Law. She has extensive experience working to advance the rights of refugees and immigrants. She is passionate about salsa dance and her native comfort food, cheesy bread "Khachapuri" from Georgia.

Ted north

Ted North was a research assistant with the Impact Litigation Project, supporting an initiative involving the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, among others. He is a part time 4L at AUWCL, where he serves as a staffer with the Health Law and Policy Brief and the National Security Law Brief. He previously worked with the Center’s Impact Litigation Project to support an initiative with the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture and has interned with the US District Court for the District of New Jersey. Mr. North earned his B.A. in History from the Virginia Military Institute and is currently a paralegal for a government contractor based in Northern Virginia.

Lena Raxter

Lena Raxter was a research assistant with the Impact Litigation Project, supporting a research initiative on pandemics and international law. She is a 2L at AUWCL with an interest in working in the international law field. Born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ms. Raxter attended the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, where she graduated with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in International Relations. She previously worked with the United Nations MY World 2030 Campaign, which helped implement the UN’s sustainable development goals by mobilizing civil society.

idrienne walker

Idrienne Walker was a research assistant with the Project for Transgender Incarcerated Survivors. She is a 3L at AUWCL with an interest in tax and antitrust litigation. Born and raised in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Ms. Walker received a B.S. in Economics from Drexel University in Philadelphia, where she played field hockey at the Division I level. She has a passion for human rights and social justice reform. Her hobbies include teaching field hockey, playing sports, and learning about the Tudor time period in England. She previously served as a judicial extern with the US District Court for the District of Columbia and as a legal intern with the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

jaclyn lahr

Jaclyn was a research assistant with the Impact Litigation Project and a 2L at the American University Washington College of Law. She decided to pursue a law degree in order to advocate for survivors of violence and exploitation and prevent such abuses, both in the U.S. and abroad. This past semester she participated in the Kovler Project Against Torture, assisting the UN Committee Against Torture with research regarding state party compliance with the UN Convention Against Torture. Prior to law school she worked as a paralegal with the DC Volunteer Lawyers Project, which provides pro bono civil legal representation to survivors of domestic violence and at-risk youth. Jaclyn is currently a junior staff member on the American University Law Review, a mentor with the Equal Justice Foundation at WCL, and the Director of Communications of the International Law Student Association.