Robyn is a professor of political science and the director of the International Nongovernmental Organizations Studies program at Rhode Island College in Providence, R.I. She received her BA in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Indiana University, her MA in International Relations from the University of Delaware, and her PhD in International Relations and Comparative Politics (with a minor in human rights) from the University of Minnesota. She teaches courses in human rights, international law, social movements, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Robyn’s research interests include the human rights of children, LGBTIQ+, and sex workers, and Amnesty International features prominently in her work. Her book, The Globalization of Childhood: The international diffusion of norms and law against the child death penalty, was published in 2016 by Oxford University Press and explores the diffusion through law of human rights norms related to children and evolving constructions of both childhood and criminality. She has also published in the Journal of Human Rights, the European Journal of International Relations, Case Research Journal, Radical Teacher, the International Journal of Minority and Group Rights, and the International Journal of Children’s Rights. She has two forthcoming book chapters, one on NGO legitimacy and accountability and another on the protection of children involved in the sex industry. Her most current research examines how international NGOs include affected persons in global policymaking by facilitating their involvement in United Nations bodies.
Robyn joined Amnesty in 2002 and is the co-founder of Amnesty’s Providence chapter, serving as the coordinator of the group since 2018. She has also served as the Legislative Coordinator for the State of Rhode Island for Amnesty since 2018. As a longstanding member of the AIUSA Archives Advisory Committee and a researcher who utilizes the archives, she continues to advocate for record-keeping and preservation of AIUSA’s critical role in global human rights change.