Miller Human Rights Award
The Miller Human Rights Award will support graduate and undergraduate human rights students who seek to deepen their experience through study abroad or volunteer work. The placement should provide substantive and thoughtful engagement, through a human rights lens, with communities experiencing socio-economic inequities, forms of discrimination, or other types of institutional or societal marginalization. Applicants with placements in the Global South are especially encouraged to apply, although the nature of the work and its potential for addressing a significant need in a marginalized community is prioritized over a specific location/country.
Selected students will engage in an opportunity abroad to enhance their human rights education or professional experience. This could entail an internship, volunteer work, or study abroad (study abroad is for undergraduate students only). Human Rights Majors and Concentrators currently enrolled in Columbia College or the School of General Studies, and HRSMA students are eligible to apply. Award recipients will receive a stipend in the amount of $5,000, intended to defray the costs associated with pursuing an experience abroad. Semester and summer opportunities are eligible for funding. Fellowship recipients are expected to write a brief report, discussing their experience and its impact on their academic studies or expected career trajectory in human rights. Recipients are also invited to write a blog post for ISHR’s RightsViews blog.
Steve Miller serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Warby Parker where he leads all aspects of finance and investor relations. Steve graduated from Columbia College in 1995 with a degree in Political Science. During his time at Columbia, Steve took a year off to work in South Africa to assist with various initiatives focused on conflict resolution and economic development in the lead up to the country’s election of Nelson Mandela. Steve is on the board of Ubuntu Education Fund, a non-profit health and education provider in South Africa and is a member of the board of trustees of the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. Steve is also on the board of Dandelion Chocolate, a sustainable chocolate brand with a factory in downtown San Francisco. Steve is actively engaged in various charitable and diplomatic causes in support of the state of Israel. Steve’s volunteer experience at Columbia had a lasting impact on his commitment to social justice initiatives, and he remains actively engaged with civil society in the country and the world.
To apply, please complete this application, and email any questions to [email protected]. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with a priority admission date of December 1 for Spring term submissions and May 1 for Summer submissions. Alternatively, for general research or internship funding, students should review ISHR's graduate or undergraduate financial resources page.
Note: Disbursement of this award is contingent on compliance with Columbia University’s international travel policies and procedures.
2026 Winners
Iris Collell
Iris Collell was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Paris. She is Franco-American and speaks French, English, Spanish and Mandarin. Enrolled in a dual degree program between Columbia College and the School of International and Public Affairs, Iris graduated in May 2026 with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights and Comparative Literature & Society. She will return this fall to complete a Master of International Affairs, concentrating in International Security & Diplomacy.
During her first semester at Columbia, Iris joined Housing Equity Project, where she distributed emergency supplies to the unhoused within a 24-block radius of Morningside Campus. Later, through the Global Columbia Collaboratory, she volunteered remotely with an international student team to write a grant proposal and develop an outreach campaign for the Grow Biointensive Agriculture Center of Kenya.
Iris has recently explored her interest in mass displacement through two practicums. After undergoing trauma-informed training, she helped conduct twelve hours of Spanish interviews with a former political prisoner to prepare documentary evidence for an asylum claim. She also volunteered as an ethnographic researcher at the New York Federal Plaza Immigration Court as part of the court-watching project Justice In View.
Iris is grateful to have been selected for the Miller Award, which will allow her to spend eight weeks in Serbia interning at Atina, an organization dedicated to anti-trafficking advocacy, prevention, and victim protection. Iris’ role will include fieldwork and research to support future national and international anti-trafficking policies. She will also help Atina expand its French-language services following a recent influx of francophone asylum-seekers.
Graysen Kirk
Graysen Kirk is entering her fourth year at Columbia College (CC 27') majoring in Human Rights with a specialization in Anthropology and a minor in Political Science. During her time at Columbia she has been very dedicated to immersing herself in human rights both in and outside the classroom, working her way up from being a columnist for the Columbia Political Review, to next year's Journal Director for the Columbia Academics on Foreign Affairs Journal. When she is not dedicating time towards her academics and career, her second passion remains dance, which she engages with through training at different studios all over New York City. Through the funding Graysen receives this summer from the Miller Award, she will be traveling internationally and engaging in an opportunity acquired through the ISHR Student Volunteer Program. This internship will culminate in 9 weeks of working in Mexico City at the grassroots non-profit organization, Documenta, where she expects to add to the collective mission of advocating for persons deprived of liberty through the criminal justice system, incarcerated persons with psychosocial disabilities, and victims of torture. She will engage with this mission by completing tasks such as producing long-form research reports on justice proceedings, executing anti-torture campaigns, monitoring legal advising channels, and facilitating legal empowerment workshops for affected families. Building on her previous experience working at the Urban Justice Center and conducting research while studying abroad in Geneva, this placement represents the next step in her professional and academic evolution.
Rayhana Barry
Rayhana is in her final year at Columbia University's School of General Studies, where she is majoring in human rights. She is Senegalese-American and grew up in Dakar, Senegal. Rayhana transferred from the Community College of Rhode Island to Columbia University. While at Columbia, she worked with Community Impact's Emergency Food Program, the Columbia-affiliated nonprofit's program aimed at providing food assistance to low-income and homeless families in Harlem, through a food pantry and soup kitchens. Rayhana is honored to receive the Miller Prize. With the support of the Miller Award, Rayhana will pursue her goal of contributing to the solution of the Talibe children crisis in Senegal, through her internship with the Dakar based children rights organization, Empire des Enfants. Empire des Enfants, an emergency reception center for children in street situations, provides comprehensive support for children through four main categories: medical coverage, legal protection, psychological follow-up, and entertainment and education. During her internship, Rayhana will participate in the organization and management of the different educational and recreational activities for the children, and assists the team with the administrative tasks. By the end of her internship at Empire des Enfants, Rayhana will create a project, which will be a new initiative catered towards the overall organization’s goal of supporting the children in their comprehensive fulfillment. The said project will be implemented in the organization’s agenda going forward.
Ruth Meschery-McCormack
Ruth Meschery-McCormack is a fourth-year student at Columbia College majoring in Human Rights and Latin American and Iberian Cultures. She is from a rural town in Northern California, and from the ages of 4 to 6 years old lived in Granada, Spain with her family while her mother was teaching for her Fulbright. These two experiences, and the Spanish language skills that she learned, inform her perspective as a student at the Institute for the Study of Human Rights, and within the educational and immigration legal service organizations where she has worked. As a recipient of the Miller Award, she was able to travel abroad with the School of International Training to Buenos Aires, Argentina. While based with a host family in the city, they also took trips to rural communities in Patagonia, the northern regions of Argentina, and into suburban cities, to learn about food insecurity, climate injustice, and indigenous land rights movements. During these trips, she was able to continue to connect the memories of her rural upbringing with her future as a student in Spanish-speaking countries. In New York, she brings her past experiences to the non-profit organization ARTE (Art Resistance Through Education), providing arts education programs to high school students throughout New York City. She also loves to draw and paint, walk through the city, visit museums, and even bartend a little. She is grateful for the support of the Miller Human Rights Award.
Kristina Mincheva
Kristina Mincheva is a MA Human Rights Studies student at Columbia University ISHR, specializing in the triple nexus—focusing on the monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian action, development, and peacebuilding programs in protracted crises worldwide. Her hands-on experience extends to international organizations and INGOs, including roles with the United Nations, the International Rescue Committee, ACTED, the World Economic Forum, the Council of Europe and the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society. She is currently in Nairobi, Kenya working as a Research Assistant Intern for the social enterprise Samuel Hall, focusing on forced migration and localization.
Her human rights journey started with her appointment as the official youth delegate to the permanent mission of Bulgaria to the United Nations and the Council of Europe, fostering a deep commitment to public policy, diplomacy and addressing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. As a Global Talent for the world's largest sustainability incubator in Mysore, India, she broadened her expertise in designing social impact programs aimed at enhancing global access to quality education. Beyond academia, she has launched initiatives and engaged in international policy efforts across Europe, on topics covering urban migration, socio-economic rights and rural youth empowerment. Most recently, she was recognized as one of the Top 30 emerging female youth leaders globally by the FORA Network for Change.
Rolihlahla Nyirenda
Rolihlahla (Roli) Nyirenda is a dedicated advocate for human rights and equitable access to public health. She is currently a rising junior at Columbia University, where she is both a Kluge Scholar and a Laidlaw Fellow.
Professionally, she has a rich background in grassroots and digital advocacy. From 2019 to 2021, she contributed significantly to Grassroots Soccer in Zimbabwe, distributing essential medical supplies and providing peer counseling on sexual and reproductive health. At Amazing G Foundation, she led fundraising and community engagement initiatives, planning monthly food drives and securing funding for key events. As a Laidlaw Leadership and Research Scholar, she conducted an independent research project focused on minimizing wrongful convictions of Black men in New York due to misidentification.
With the Miller Award, she will continue to work with Plan International, and Amplifying Girls’ Voices Through Digital Arts to create impactful digital media to advocate for the rights of women and children in Southern Africa. She has directed and produced content that reached over 50.9K YouTube subscribers and garnered 6.1M views, with the hopes of continuing this strong trajectory.
Claudia Sachs
Claudia Sachs is a senior in the Joint Program between Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary studying human rights, sustainable development, and modern Jewish studies. She is honored to receive the Miller Human Rights Award in order to participate in a unique research and learning opportunity this summer: Environmental Humanities & Global Health in The Gambia, organized by the Columbia Global Collaboratory. For 10 weeks, she will be working remotely with the Gunjur Project, a sustainability and public health NGO in The Gambia, to prepare a project that furthers the NGO’s rights-based goals and mission. In August, she will travel to The Gambia with ten other students to learn more about the environmental, public health, and human rights challenges in The Gambia and collaborate with the Gunjur Project in person. This summer, Claudia will also research and learn about sustainability and human rights from a legal lens through her internship at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in the Pro Bono department. She extends her gratitude to the Miller Foundation for their generous support of human rights research and study.
Johanna Wassong
Johanna Wassong is a M.A. Human Rights Studies student, focusing on forced displacement and post conflict reconstruction with a regional concentration on East Africa and the Great Lakes Region. Johanna has always strived to combine her academic pursuits with practical experience, including internships, research positions and volunteering. With her previous internships at the International Rescue Committee and UNO-Flüchtlingshilfe (Germany for UNHCR) she has gained insight into the international and national attempts and frameworks to address forced displacement. After she graduates she aspires to work on similar projects.
She is very grateful for the opportunity that the Miller Human Rights Award presents. With the support of the award she will be interning with the organization Samuel Hall, in Nairobi, Kenya. The organization Samuel Hall aims to amplify the voices of migrants, the forcibly displaced and host societies in order to inform more inclusive and effective solutions. Johanna hopes to learn from this mission and reflect this approach in her future practice and endeavors.
Angel Gilbert
Angel Gilbert is a rising second year student at Columbia University and an aspiring social justice lawyer, whose work helps her to not only make a difference in other people’s lives but also heal her own wounds. She mentors individuals experiencing drug addiction at Strides to Recovery, and advocates for struggling parents who committed crimes while under the influence at Witness to Mass Incarceration. Angel works alongside the executive director and the rest of the journalist team to publicize the experiences of those behind bars, writing not only about incarcerated individuals but also about the parents, children, or friends that they leave behind. Angel's work is informed by her experience being placed in an inhumane child welfare system as her mother served time, and witnessing first-hand a system quick to disrupt secure placements but slow to provide rehabilitative care. Angel is also building and leading an affinity group with the non-profit DemocraShe this summer, for foster children interested in politics. She is honored to be a Miller Award recipient.
Laura Giselle Romero
Laura Giselle Romero is a junior at Columbia College studying Human Rights and Political Science. Laura is the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants, whose sacrifices have instilled purpose in her career pursuits. Laura has always been passionate about immigration law and is committed to serving migrant communities and honoring their stories through her work. Laura is honored to be a Miller Human Rights Award recipient. The support provided by this award will help her continue in her position as a Paralegal Advocate at the incredible non-profit organization, The Brave House. The Brave House serves young immigrant women and gender-expansive youth, ages 16-24, with a focus on individuals who are survivors of gender-based violence. At The Brave House, Laura has been supporting the expansion of the legal department, focusing on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) and Asylum cases for young women from Central America and Mexico. Laura is grateful for the opportunity to work with such brave, resilient, and kind women. After graduating, Laura will be attending law school and studying immigration law.
Madison Watkins
Madison Watkins is a senior at the School of General Studies and a Human Rights major with a concentration on Education. Madison has been a student at Columbia since 2021 and transferred in from Harford County Community College in Maryland. Since being on campus she has learned invaluable skills in human rights applications and research. While being at Columbia, Madison has maintained full-time employment throughout each semester as an employee at Avenues NYC, a sober living facility in Chelsea, and a student worker at the Center for Career Education on campus. She has also been able to give back to the community by being the Vice President of the Recovery Coalition, a club that provides students with safe spaces to gain community while going through the stressors of life on campus and more. Madison is beyond grateful to not only be a student at Columbia but to have been given this award. Her internship at the Department of Child Protection and Permanency has given her first-hand experience of understanding the purpose of protecting children’s basic human rights as well as applying the knowledge she has learned at Columbia. Madison is proud to be a 2023 recipient of the Miller Award.
Annamaria Belevitch
Annamaria Belevitch is a junior at Columbia College studying Political Science (with a specialization in International Relations) and History. This summer she is honored to be a recipient of the Miller Human Rights Prize, in order to work with the Global Scholars Program and K=1 Project at Columbia University's Center for Nuclear Studies on the legacy of French nuclear testing in French Polynesia. Annamaria is specifically studying the development of radiation-induced cancers and how nuclear testing, environmental justice, and Indigenous rights are approached within international human rights law. With Dominican and Russian roots, originally from Port Charlotte, Florida, Annamaria is incredibly passionate about the intersection between human rights, international law, and politics.
Clara Harrington
Clara Harrington is a Human Rights Major in the General Studies and SciencesPo Dual Program at Columbia University. Clara's interest in humanitarian work began in 2019 when she volunteered on the UK-France border in Calais, France working with refugee and migrant communities. She returned to live in Calais from 2020-2021. As a recipient of the Miller Prize in summer 2022, Clara will continue to participate in advocacy efforts and daily dry food distribution to 1,500 displaced persons for the Calais Food Collective, a grassroots, flat hierarchy organization in Northern France, set up for emergency response to the pandemic. Since beginning her studies at Columbia, Clara has engaged in the field of human rights with a primary focus on advocacy for refugees and migrants' rights. While at SciencesPo, Clara studied Political Humanities with a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean specialization. She is currently entering her fourth and final year of the program where she is majoring in Human Rights.