Staff Profiles
Yvette Alberdingk Thijm, Executive Director,

Yvette envisions a citizen-driven human rights movement that effectively utilizes media and technology. She envisions WITNESS as a human rights...

Raja Althaibani, Middle East and North Africa Program Associate,

Raja currently works to ensure that video is used effectively to take advantage of the critical moment of transition in the region and to ensure innovative learning is shared and built upon. Most...

Rose Anderson, Program Coordinator,

Rose currently works on our Gender-Based Violence campaign. Before coming to WITNESS, Rose worked with...

Lessie Askew, Human Resources Manager,

Lessie oversees all aspects of human resources at WITNESS. She attended SUNY Stony Brook, where she completed her BA degree in Psychology with concentrations in Women Studies.  She is...

Madeleine Bair, Human Rights Channel Curator,

Madeleine curates the Human Rights Channel, our collaboration with Storyful on YouTube. Madeleine has been carrying a microphone in...

Miyoko Brunner, External Relations Senior Coordinator,

Miyoko Brunner graduated with a BA in Economics from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. Prior to WITNESS, Miyoko has worked on fundraising and development projects with the Women's...

Matisse Bustos Hawkes, Communications Manager,

Matisse joined WITNESS in 2003 and provides creative and strategic leadership on digital communications for the organization. Prior to WITNESS she spent two years at...

Ricky Cortez, IT Coordinator,

Ricky Cortez has worked as Director of Technology for OWN Charter School, where he also was involved with community outreach, and a teacher media training initiative. He was the Professional...

Claire Davis, Senior Finance Manager,

Claire Davis has over 15 years of nonprofit financial management experience, including nine years at the Edward W. Hazen Foundation, which funds grassroots-led education reform, and four years at...

Chap Day, Office Services Coordinator,

Chap coordinates WITNESS' office services as well as the internship program. He comes to us with 10 years of office coordination and support from various institutions including Amalgamated...

Sara Federlein, Associate Director, Foundations,

Sara has sixteen years experience in nonprofit development, administration, planning and outreach together with a strong interest in the intersection of social issues and visual media. She...

Lizzie Gillett, Catalyst,

Lizzie is a film producer, campaigner, fundraiser and catalyst for social change. She produced the climate change documentary...

Sam Gregory, Program Director,

Sam is an internationally recognized human rights advocate, trainer and video producer who helps people use the power of the moving image and participatory technologies to create...

Tanya Karanasios, Associate Director, Campaign Partnerships,

Tanya joined WITNESS after serving eight years as the Program Director of the Coalition for the International Court. In 1995, she worked to help establish the International Criminal Court (ICC) at...

Ryan Kautz, Video Editor & Production Trainer,

Ryan Kautz has worked at WITNESS since 2004. He has conducted production and editing trainings in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North America. He has edited several WITNESS...

Grace Lile, Director of Operations and Archives,

Grace is an archivist with over 20 years experience working with film and video collections, and expertise in digital asset management, preservation-oriented production, and documentary film....

Kelly Matheson, Program Manager for the Americas,

Kelly Matheson is an attorney, filmmaker and human rights advocate who previously worked with WITNESS to launch the first Video Advocacy Institute. As an attorney, she worked as a Law Fellow in...

Chris Michael, Video Advocacy Training Manager,

Chris Michael is a trainer, video producer and human rights advocate who helped launch and run the Hub, and has led and supported WITNESS partner campaigns and online-focused initiatives. Prior to...

M.J. Moneymaker, Online Outreach & Production,

M.J. Moneymaker has a MFA in Creative Writing and a BA in TV/Film production. As a freelancer, she worked on projects as a writer/producer, web designer, video editor and compositing & FX. She...

Priscila Neri, Program Manager,

Priscila Néri, is a Brazilian journalist, activist, and documentary filmmaker who joined WITNESS in 2008 to help run the Hub and support WITNESS' campaigns online. She is currently...

Yvonne Ng, Archivist,

Yvonne supports all activities of the Media Archive and blogs frequently about issues facing human rights archivists. She has worked with audiovisual collections at the New York Public Library,...

Bryan Nunez, Technology Manager,

Bryan joined WITNESS in...

Ashley Patterson, Creative Projects Producer,

Ashley works on communications and individual philanthropy at WITNESS and produces the organization's annual benefit. Before coming to WITNESS, she was a full-time actress, performing in over...

Lisa Robinson, External Relations Associate,

Lisa Robinson works with WITNESS' Development team as the External Relations Associate. She has extensive experience with documentary filmmakers, emphasizing social content and empowerment...

Ryan Schlief, Program Manager,

Ryan leads the global campaign on forced evictions and is the focal person for the Asia-Pacific region. He is a life-long activist and campaign strategist who first picked up a video camera and...

Hyunseok Seo, Finance Coordinator,

Seo supports the organization’s programs and operations as well as conducts general accounting works and preparations for the Annual Audit. He was born and raised in South Korea and earned...

Martin Tzanev, Post-production & Media Management Coordinator,

Martin Tzanev is a video professional with skills spanning production, post-production, media management and archiving. Since 2007 he has acted as assistant editor for WITNESS'...

Bukeni Tete Waruzi, Program Manager for Africa & the Middle East,

Bukeni Tete Waruzi is a human rights advocate and a field worker from Uvira, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where he worked for over nine years on child soldiers and children...

Jenni Wolfson, Managing Director,

Since 2006, Jenni has been Managing Director of WITNESS. Previously, Jenni worked globally for the United Nations as a human rights advocate for 12 years. In Rwanda and Haiti, she investigated...

Jackie Zammuto, Engagement Associate,

Jackie Zammuto provides administrative and logistical support to our Campaign Partnerships, and the Tools & Tactics and Cameras Everywhere Leadership initiatives. Her first introduction to...