As you know, Margaret has played a key leadership role at AIUSA for the last several years, and she has worked in partnership with the Board, members, and staff to strengthen the organization in order to protect people’s human rights – no matter who they are or where they are. Over the last couple of years, donations and membership in AIUSA have increased, as supporters nationwide have been galvanized by our campaigns and advocacy work on key human rights issues. Margaret’s leadership has been central in bringing this stability and growth.
Since the beginning of this year, Margaret has served as Interim Executive Director. Prior to that, she was Chief of Staff, responsible for management across the organization, after initially overseeing our Campaigns and Research department. Margaret knows this organization inside-out, and she brings more than two decades of experience defending human rights.
We conducted a rigorous search process that yielded an exceptionally strong pool of candidates. The Search Committee included a member leader, and a panel of members interviewed finalists and gave the Board their input. All of us were deeply impressed with Margaret’s experience and approach. She has a strong and consensus-based approach to management and a deep, demonstrated commitment to human rights – and as a result she has built close relationships with members, partners, allies, donors, and staff to advance our critical work.
Margaret will oversee the implementation of a strong, bold four-year strategic plan that the board, staff, and membership embraced earlier this year. She will work in partnership with our Board, and other grassroots member leaders to secure the rights of refugees, protect human rights defenders, and hold law enforcement accountable for rights-respecting policing, both in the U.S. and around the world. Nobody fights for human rights quite like Amnesty International does, and our work has never been more critical.
Thank you for your partnership and your activism,
Ann Burroughs, Board Chair, Amnesty International USA