Jared Genser (Español)
Jared Genser is Managing Director of Perseus Strategies, Special Advisor on the Responsibility to Protect to the Organization of American States, General Counsel to the Neurorights Foundation, and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center. Referred to by the New York Times as “The Extractor” for his work freeing political prisoners, he is also co-Executive Producer of a dramatic TV series based on his life being developed with actor and producer Orlando Bloom by Amazon Studios for Prime Video, which has 175 million viewers worldwide. Genser was previously a partner in the government affairs practice of DLA Piper LLP and a management consultant with McKinsey & Company.
Genser has taught semester-long seminars about the UN Security Council at Georgetown University Law Center and the University of Michigan and University of Pennsylvania law schools. He was an Associate of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University from 2014-2016, a Visiting Fellow with the National Endowment for Democracy from 2006-2007, and was previously named by the National Law Journal as one of “40 Under 40: Washington’s Rising Stars.” His past clients have included former Czech Republic President Václav Havel, former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Desmond Tutu, Liu Xiaobo, and Elie Wiesel. Coming from his experience freeing his first client as a law student, in 2001 he founded Freedom Now, a non-governmental organization that works to free prisoners of conscience worldwide.
He holds a B.S. from Cornell University, an M.P.P. from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he was an Alumni Public Service Fellow, and a J.D. cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School.
Genser is author of The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: Commentary and Guide to Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2019). In addition, he is co-editor of The UN Security Council in the Age of Human Rights (Cambridge University Press, 2016) and The Responsibility to Protect: The Promise of Stopping Mass Atrocities in Our Times (Oxford University Press, 2011). In 2020, Genser was selected as one of three winners of the Tällberg Eliasson Global Leadership Prize from among 2,165 nominees from 135 countries. He is also the recipient of the American Bar Association’s International Human Rights Award, Liberty in North Korea’s Freedom Fighter Award, and the Charles Bronfman Prize. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. And he was selected as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum (Class of 2008).
Profiles – Print
- Cathryn J. Prince, Freedom is His Business: How Jared Genser Extracts Political Prisoners, Christian Science Monitor, October 3, 2022
- High Stakes, Bethesda Magazine, April/May 2021
- The Ripple Effect: Jared Genser, Tällberg Eliasson Global Leadership Prize Profile, December 2020
- Human Rights Hero Jared Genser on Dictators and the World’s Worst Prisons, American Lawyer Litigation Daily, March 15, 2016
- 5 Humble Humanitarian Heroes, Take Part, August 19, 2011
- DLA Piper Alum Launches Practice Focused on Humanitarian Issues, Washington Post, July 3, 2011
- “I’m an American:” When Democracy Advocate Nyi Nyi Aung Was Arrested in Burma, It Took a Determined Washington Lawyer to Get Him Home, Washingtonian, October 2010
- What It Takes: A Persistent Voice for Human Rights, Washington Post Capital Business, June 7, 2010
- Freedom Fighter: One Man’s Lawyer, John F. Kennedy School of Government Bulletin, Spring 2008
- A Friend in Need, American Lawyer, October 2007
- The James Mawdsley Story, University of Michigan Law Quadrangle Notes, Spring 2001 (Case Inspired Founding of Freedom Now)
Profiles – Television and Radio
- Sunday Profile, ABC Radio (Australia), June 30, 2013
Brian Tronic
Brian Tronic is Counsel at Perseus Strategies. He is a graduate of Penn Law School and holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia, where he double-majored in Math and Philosophy. After law school, he clerked for two years in the Vermont Superior Court, and then moved to South India to work at a human rights organization through the William J. Clinton Fellowship for Service in India. He then served as the Crowley Fellow in International Human Rights at Fordham Law School, an Assistant Professor at Jindal Global Law School (India), and the Supervising Attorney and Teaching Fellow at the International Women’s Human Rights Clinic at the Georgetown Law Center. He is a member of the Massachusetts bar and the District of Columbia bar.
Stephanie Herrmann
Stephanie Herrmann is the Staff Attorney at Perseus Strategies. Her experience includes serving as an advocate at the Anti-Torture Initiative, as a Kovler Scholar at the UN Committee Against Torture’s 68th Session, and as the Inaugural Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House. She also has worked as a law clerk for both the ACLU National Prison Project and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Stephanie received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, her M.Sc. from the London School of Economics, and her J.D. from American University Washington College of Law. She speaks Spanish and intermediate Mandarin. She is a member of the District of Columbia bar.
Juan Felipe Wills
Juan Felipe Wills is the Václav Havel Human Rights Fellow at Perseus Strategies. He holds an LL.M from Harvard Law School and an LL.B with a minor in International Studies from Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. He previously worked for three-and-a-half years at the Colombian Defense Ministry advising in Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and collaborating closely with the military, police, and international organizations to promote respect for human rights. Juan has also attended the Hague Academy of International Law and the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies. He is licensed to practice law in Colombia.
Hannah Pierce
Hannah Pierce is the Archbishop Desmond Tutu International Policy Fellow. She graduated with high distinction from the University of Michigan, holding B.A.s in Political Science and International Security, Cooperation, and Norms. Hannah focuses on racial and gender inequity in public policy, especially regarding poverty, incarceration, and health. She previously worked as a Case Manager for Health First Colorado (Medicaid), ensuring the health and dignity of low-income individuals with physical or mental disabilities. She has completed internships with Perseus Strategies, her U.S. Congresswoman, and Office of the Colorado State Public Defender. Inspiring her passion for criminal justice reform, Hannah was also a mentor for incarcerated at-risk youth in Detroit, MI, leading rehabilitative efforts for their successful social reintegration after release.
Neena Patil
Neena Patil is an intern at Perseus Strategies. She is currently pursuing a B.A. in Political Science – International Relations and a minor in Business at the University of California, San Diego. She is currently participating in the UC Washington Program in DC, and plans on attending law school in the future.
Amanda Cohn
Amanda Cohn is an intern at Perseus Strategies. She is currently pursuing a J.D. at Columbia Law School. Prior to law school, Amanda completed internships with the International Rescue Committee and the UCLA Center for Middle East Development. She additionally worked as an English language instructor and advocate for the African refugee and asylum-seeking population in Tel Aviv. Amanda received a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she studied Middle Eastern Studies and Political Science with a concentration in International Relations. She holds an M.A. in Conflict Resolution and Mediation from Tel Aviv University (MA). She speaks French, Spanish, and Hebrew.
Matthew Urfirer
Matthew Urfirer is an intern at Perseus Strategies. He is currently pursuing a J.D. at Harvard Law School, where he serves as a Submissions Editor for the National Security Journal and as a Vice President of the National Security Law Association. He is also a member of the HLS Advocates for Human Rights. Prior to law school, he worked as Deputy Campaign Manager and Research Assistant for Dr. Evelyn Farkas, a former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, and as a consultant at Avascent. He received his B.A. from Harvard College, where he studied Psychology and Government.
Skylar Gleason
Skylar Gleason is a pro bono consultant at Perseus Strategies. She is currently pursuing her J.D. at Columbia University, where she is a member of the Public Interest/Public Service Fellows Program and the Human Rights Institute 1L Advocates Program. Prior to law school, she served as the Liu Xiaobo Human Rights Fellow at Perseus Strategies and as a Junior Advocacy Assistant at the Scholars at Risk Network. She has completed internships with the Washtenaw County Office of Public Defender, Perseus Strategies, and the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice. Skylar graduated with highest distinction from the University of Michigan with majors in Political Science and International Studies, as well as minors in Spanish and Law, Justice, and Social Change. She speaks Spanish.