ONYEMA AFULUKWE is a Visiting Attorney in the International Legal Program. Her work focuses on the protection of reproductive health and rights in the African region. Her previous experience includes a 'Law Office Attachment' with the Office of the Attorney General of Delta State, Nigeria. She has had several internships as a United Nations Monitor with the International Services for Human Rights in New York and contributed analytical reports about UN proceedings to two editions of the journal- The Human Rights Monitor. She also had an internship with Oxfam Canada in Toronto and worked on HIV and women’s issues. Onyema received her LL.B from the University of Nigeria. She holds a Masters in Public International Law, from The London School of Economics and Political Science, and an LL.M from University of Toronto, where she was a Women's Rights and Reproductive Health Scholar. She was admitted to the Nigerian bar in 2003 and the New York State Bar in 2006.
KATRINA ANDERSON is a Human Rights Attorney in the Domestic Legal Program, where she works to incorporate international human rights law and strategies into domestic legal advocacy. She joined the Center in 2006 after earning her LL.M. degree in international law, with a specialization in the Protection of International Human Rights, from Washington College of Law. Her commitment to women's rights began while living on the Thai-Burma border, where she documented human rights violations perpetrated against ethnic minority groups from Burma. She brings a background in international human rights and criminal law from working for several years with NGOs in Thailand and Cambodia, and from serving as a fellow with the War Crimes Research Office. She graduated from Seattle University School of Law in 2004 and from the University of Virginia in 1997 with a B.A. in English.
XIMENA ANDION is the International Advocacy Director of the International Legal Program at the Center for Reproductive Rights. Ximena has been working in the human rights field for more than eight years, focusing on women's rights issues and the development of advocacy strategies at the national, regional and international level. Ximena worked for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights field presences in Mexico and Guatemala, providing technical assistance on gender issues and human rights. Prior to that, Ximena was the Advocacy Coordinator of one of the leading human rights organizations in Mexico, the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights, where she pioneered various advocacy initiatives on the issue of violence against women. Ximena has a Bachelor in International Human Rights from the Universidad Anahuac del Sur in Mexico, a Diploma on Human Rights and Democratization from the Universidad de Chile and an LLM in International Human Rights Law from Essex University.
MONICA ARANGO is the Legal Fellow for Latin America and The Caribbean in the International Legal Program. Monica’s work at the Center includes litigation and advocacy on Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Nicaragua and Colombia, around issues of adolescents, sexual abuse in schools, abortion and reproductive rights in general. Before joining the Center Monica was part of the permanent staff of a judge of the Colombian Constitutional Court for three years. At the Court she mainly worked on women’s rights, multiculturalism, family law, criminal procedure code, legislative procedure and comparative law. Mónica has also worked at the Colombian Congress and as a fellow for Women’s Link Worldwide where she conducted research for the justice observatory for Colombia regarding sexual and reproductive rights. Mónica has also worked as research assistant for investigations made by the Center for Socio-Legal Studies of the Los Andes University in Colombia regarding the analysis of human rights violations in Colombia and the UNDP regarding domestic violence in Colombia. Mónica earned a Bachelor of Laws from the Los Andes University in Colombia as well as a Minor on Literature.
LUISA CABAL is the Director of the International Legal Program at the Center for Reproductive Rights, where she leads the Center’s legal advocacy efforts in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe. In her nine years at the Center, Luisa has pioneered the Center’s first international litigation efforts, filing cases before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Committee. She also designed and co-coordinated the first comparative study in Latin America on women’s rights jurisprudence of the region’s highest level courts. She is co-founder of Red Alas, a network of Latin American law professors who are integrating a gender perspective and women’s rights into law school curricula in the region. Luisa received her law degree from the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, and her Master of Laws from Columbia University School of Law.
JANET CREPPS is a Deputy Director in the Domestic Legal Program. Ms. Crepps' litigation has included fighting bans on "partial-birth" abortion, parental consent requirements, and TRAP regulations. In addition, she has done extensive policy work in the area of reproductive rights through the Center's state and federal programs. Prior to joining the Center in 1992, Ms. Crepps was a consultant for the Reproductive Freedom Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, and a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho. She has also served as an Assistant Public Defender in Anchorage, Alaska, and has worked in private practice. Following her graduation from the University of Washington Law School, she clerked for the Honorable James Singleton of the Alaska Court of Appeals.
BONNIE SCOTT JONES is a Deputy Director in the Domestic Legal Program at the Center for Reproductive Rights. During her decade with the Center, Bonnie has served as lead counsel in complex constitutional litigation challenging restrictions on reproductive health care, including Medicaid funding bans, abortion facility regulations, and reporting requirements for adolescent patients. She has focused on developing alternate legal theories for our cases including arguments under the equal protection clause, the right to informational privacy, and the Fourth Amendment. Bonnie also has led various non-litigation projects, including the filing of a Citizen's Petition with the FDA on behalf of dozens of medical and health organizations seeking to make emergency contraception available over the counter. She has published articles and given presentations on the legal issues surrounding medical abortion, emergency contraception, and targeted regulation of abortion providers. Prior to joining the Center, Bonnie was a law clerk, first for the Massachusetts Superior Court and then for the Honorable Mary Johnson Lowe of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. She is a graduate of Yale Law School and Sarah Lawrence College.
LAURA KATZIVE is the Deputy Director of the International Legal Program of the Center for Reproductive Rights. Ms. Katzive's work includes advocacy at the UN and support for national-level law reform initiatives worldwide. In furtherance of these activities, she develops Center materials that analyze international law and global legal trends in the area of reproductive rights. Before becoming a Center legal adviser in 1999, she was a fellow in the International Legal Program. Ms. Katzive graduated from Cornell Law School, where she earned both a JD and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International and Comparative Law.
CELINE MIZRAHI is the Legislative Counsel for the Domestic Legal Program at the Center for Reproductive Rights. Celine's work includes legal analyses of state legislative proposals affecting women's reproductive rights, technical assistance to local advocates on state legislative issues, and the development and promotion of pro-active legislative and policy strategies. Prior to joining the Center's State Legislative Program in 2006, Celine was a litigation associate for Cahill, Gordon, and Reindel, LLP. She has a background in anti-poverty advocacy and women's issues, and worked as an advocate and counselor for low income individuals before and during law school. A graduate of Yale University, Celine earned her J.D from New York University Law School, where she was an Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow.
MICHELLE PALLAK MOVAHED is a litigation fellow with the Domestic Legal Program. Before joining the Center, she clerked for the Honorable James Orenstein, a United States Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District of New York. She earned a J.D. from the Fordham University School of Law, where she was a Stein Scholar in Public Interest Law & Ethics, a Crowley Scholar in International Human Rights, and a founder of Fordham Law Students for Choice (now Law Students for Reproductive Justice). Prior to law school, Ms. Movahed worked in electoral politics, disaster relief at a social services site, and direct social services at a women's shelter; during law school, she was involved with several human and civil rights legal organizations. She holds a B.A. in Religion from Reed College.
Suzanne Novak is a consulting attorney in the Domestic Legal Program at the Center for Reproductive Rights, and previously served as both a Staff Attorney and Blackmun Fellow at the Center. She has defended the rights of teenagers in Alaska to make their own reproductive health decisions, challenged an abortion ban in Virginia, and successfully sued to shut down the operation of a man who ran a fake abortion referral service. Prior to returning to the Center, Ms. Novak served as a Deputy Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center, where she coordinated the Center's Campaign Finance Reform and Government Accountability Projects. Ms. Novak was also an associate at Arnold & Porter and a clerk for the honorable Stephen M. McNamee of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Ms. Novak graduated with honors from New York University School of Law.
LILIAN SEPÚLVEDA is the Regional Manager and Legal Adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean in the International Legal Program. Her work focuses on the protection and advancement of women's reproductive rights in Latin America, including spearheading the Center's litigation and law reform efforts in the region. Ms. Sepúlveda has represented the Center in negotiating a settlement with the Mexican government in Paulina Ramírez v. Mexico, and is working to ensure the Peruvian government’s implementation of the UN Human Rights Committee’s decision in K.L. v. Peru. She is editor of Bodies on Trial: Reproductive Rights in Latin American Courts, a key regional publication of the International Legal Program, and co-author of "What Role can International Litigation Play in the Promotion and Advancement of Reproductive Rights in Latin America?". Before joining the Center in 2002, she worked at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and at Rutgers University. Ms. Sepúlveda is a graduate of Rutgers University School of Law.
ELISA SLATTERY is the Regional Manager and Legal Adviser for Africa. Her work focuses on promoting reproductive rights through national, regional, and international accountability mechanisms, and addressing the intersection of HIV and reproductive rights. Prior to coming to the Center, she worked at the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya as a Third Millennium Foundation Human Rights Fellow. She has also worked as a consultant on worker's rights issues in Kenya and conducted comparative legal and human rights research on prisoners’ parental rights at NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice. Ms. Slattery received her J.D. from Columbia Law School where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar. She has an M.A. in History from Duke University, and a B.A. from the University of Virginia.
DANA SUSSMAN is a Litigation Fellow in the Domestic Legal Program. Prior to becoming a fellow, Dana worked as a legal intern at the Center. Dana earned a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law and a Master's in Public Health from Tufts University School of Medicine. Her Master's thesis involved monitoring hospitals' compliance with Massachusetts’ emergency contraception access law for NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts. While in law school, Dana volunteered as a rape crisis counselor and domestic violence legal advocate. She interned with Judge Sloviter of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the Victim Rights Law Center, an organization advocating on behalf of rape victims. Dana graduated from Tufts University with a B.A. in International Relations and French.
STEPHANIE TOTI is a Staff Attorney in the Domestic Legal Program. Her work focuses on protecting reproductive rights and increasing access to reproductive health care services for women in the United States. In 2007, she argued successfully to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that a Virginia statute which effectively banned the most common method of second-trimester abortion was unconstitutional. Prior to becoming a Staff Attorney, Ms. Toti was a Litigation Fellow at the Center. She also served as an associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, LLP. She earned a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A. from Fordham University, where she studied Public Administration and Mathematics. In addition, she clerked for the Honorable Nina Gershon, a United States District Court Judge in the Eastern District of New York. Ms. Toti is currently serving as an Adjunct Professor at Fordham University School of Law.
MELISSA UPRETI is a Senior Manager and the Legal Adviser for Asia. She is coordinator and main editor two of the Center’s signature publications, Women of the World, South Asia, and Women of the World, East and South-East Asia. She led a fact-finding mission to investigate women imprisoned for abortion in Nepal and is co-author of Abortion in Nepal: Women Imprisoned. She has designed and conducted human rights trainings in India, Nepal and the Philippines and is involved in reproductive rights litigation projects in these countries. More recently, she was instrumental in securing the constitutional recognition of reproductive rights in Nepal and has been involved in efforts to promote the use of the Optional Protocol to CEDAW in the region. Prior to joining the Center in 2000, Ms. Upreti was a Program Officer at the Asia Foundation in Nepal. Ms. Upreti has a LL.B. from India and received her Master of Laws from the Columbia University School of Law, where she was a Stone Scholar.
CHRISTINA ZAMPAS is the Senior Regional Manager and Legal Adviser for Europe in the International Legal Program at the Center for Reproductive Rights. Her work focuses on the achievement of reproductive health care and rights for women in Europe, with a concentration on Central and Eastern Europe. She leads the Center's law reform, litigation and training efforts in the region, including work at the European Court of Human Rights and the UN Optional Protocol mechanisms. She has co-led a fact finding mission to Slovakia to investigate the forced and coerced sterilization of Romani women and is co-author of Body and Soul: Forced Sterilization and Other Assaults on Roma Reproductive Freedom in Slovakia. She has also designed and implemented the first litigation-focused women’s human rights training program for lawyers from CEE. Ms. Zampas is on the ASTRA Network Advisory Board. Before joining the Center in 2001, Zampas was a Senior Program Officer in the Population and Sustainable Development program at Parliamentarians for Global Action. Before that, she worked at the Carnegie Corporation of New York in the area of women's health and development, focusing on women's legal rights in sub-Saharan Africa, and was a visiting lecturer in Russian universities with the Civic Education Project, Yale University and the Constitutional and Legal Policy Institute, Budapest. Ms. Zampas is a graduate of Syracuse University Law School.
