Executive Director
Margaret Huang, an advocate for human rights and racial justice for more than two decades, is the Executive Director of Amnesty International USA.
As the chief executive officer, Ms. Huang is responsible for advancing the vision and mission of the organization, managing the organization’s day-to-day operations and activities, serving as the lead spokesperson for the organization, and ensuring the organization’s financial health. She has worked with Members of Congress on critical pieces of legislation, and she has advocated before the United Nations human rights mechanisms as well as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. She has published articles and opinion pieces on human rights, and she authored a chapter, “Going Global – Appeals to International and Regional Human Rights Bodies,” in Human Rights At Home, published by Praeger Publishers in December 2007. Ms. Huang’s opinion pieces have been published in Time, The Washington Post, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, Rolling Stone, the Miami Herald, and numerous other leading outlets, and she has been interviewed on National Public Radio, CNN, NBC News, Al Jazeera, and other global and domestic media. She regularly speaks on human rights issues to national and international associations, universities, and conferences.
Ms. Huang previously served as Chief of Staff and as Deputy Executive Director for Campaigns and Programs at Amnesty International USA. Earlier in her career, she served as Executive Director of the Rights Working Group, a coalition of civil liberties and human rights groups formed in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Previously, she served as Director of the U.S. Program at Global Rights, Program Director of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights, and Program Manager at The Asia Foundation. Earlier in her career, she served as Committee Staff for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Ms. Huang received a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University, and a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University.
Chief Development Officer
Danny McGregor is the Chief Development Officer at Amnesty International USA. He manages the Direct Response, Monthly Giving, Major Gifts, and Planned Giving programs. For several years Mr. McGregor has worked for a stronger and healthier planet for all. He joined Amnesty International USA in April 2014, after 15 years working for Greenpeace, where he held a variety of roles, mostly recently Director of Development for Greenpeace U.S. He received a Master of Mathematics from the University of Oxford and is a Chartered Accountant. He is based in Seattle, Washington, where he lives with his wife and two young sons.
Chief Legal and Policy Officer
Ira Lefton is the Chief Legal and Policy Officer at Amnesty International USA. He joined the organization in 2019 after having provided legal counsel in a pro bono capacity for Amnesty International USA on an ongoing basis since 2005 while a partner with two AmLaw 200 law firms, Reed Smith LLP and Eckert Seamans LLC. In addition to his years of assisting Amnesty International USA on a range of governance, contractual, intellectual property and other issues, he provided counseling to numerous other national and regional nonprofits on a wide array of issues. With more than forty years of experience as an attorney focusing on commercial litigation, Mr. Lefton has developed expertise in addressing and resolving challenges facing organizations in all aspects of their operations. Mr. Lefton earned his B.A. from Yale University and his J.D. from the University of North Carolina. He resides in Philadelphia. PA with his husband, an interior designer.
Chief Inclusion & Strategic Innovation Officer
Minjon Tholen is the Chief Inclusion & Strategic Innovation Officer at Amnesty International USA. She is responsible for leading holistic culture change efforts across the organization to build a bigger, bolder and more inclusive human rights organization. Ms. Tholen is a passionate and seasoned global organizational transformation strategist with a specialization in Diversity & Inclusion and has extensive experience in developing and implementing innovative change initiatives at a wide variety of organizations. Prior to joining Amnesty, Ms. Tholen was a Senior Consultant at Cook Ross Inc., a leading consulting firm specializing in organizational transformation and diversity & inclusion management, where she partnered with leaders at Fortune 500 companies, public institutions and nonprofits all over the world. Previously, she worked at several nonprofit and educational organizations, and co-founded a global collaborative for next generation leaders committed to diversity & inclusion. Ms. Tholen was born in Sri Lanka, grew up in The Netherlands, and resides in the United States with her husband and Bernedoodle puppy. She received her Bachelor’s degree cum laude from the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands, holds a Master’s degree in Gender and Women’s Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and has certificates in Executive Leadership and Strategic HR Leadership from Cornell University.