In May, Jessica Carvalho Morris, UM Law alumna and Director of the International and Foreign Graduate Programs, was elected to the National Board of Directors of Amnesty International USA, a Nobel Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with over 1.8 million members worldwide. Morris received the largest number of votes among the seven newly elected directors and will take her seat on the Board in June.    

Amnesty International undertakes research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights. 

Morris, JD '03, has been the coordinator for the Miami Chapter of Amnesty International since 2004, organizing the largest Florida state conference in 2006 and the Southern Regional Conference in 2007, both taking place at the Law School. She has also expanded the fundraising and membership of the Miami Chapter through regular events. Most recently, Morris participated in the organization of the Guantanamo Bay Mock Cell Tour, lobbying Congress on the International Violence Against Women Act and coordinating efforts involving the widespread violence in Guatemala.  

Morris also regularly serves as the spokesperson for Amnesty International in the Spanish media and is a frequent speaker on human rights issues in the U.S. and Latin America. In April, she chaired a human rights workshop at Amnesty International’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Morris’ initial interest in human rights stemmed from her family’s history of persecution and torture in Brazil and upbringing in exile in Costa Rica. “Hearing those stories, and witnessing violence against women and prisoner mistreatment, I developed a passion and commitment for promoting and protecting human rights,” she said.

posted 10-June-2008