HRSMA Alumna Receives Dean’s Distinguished Achievement Award
ISHR is delighted to announce that Tatiana Kotlyarenko, ’06 Human Rights Studies M.A., was selected to receive the 2026 Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement. This award honors GSAS graduates who have contributed not only to the academic community, but who have also made an impact in society.
Tatiana is an international award-winning expert and speaker on violence against women and girls, technology and human rights, and human trafficking. She currently serves as a member of the G20 IF20 Human Trafficking Working Group. She was the Advisor on Anti-Trafficking Issues at OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights from 2016-2023.
Born in Chisinau, Moldova - a city famous for its wine - Tatiana and her family came to the United States as refugees in 1989. She grew up in the melting pot of NYC, recognized for its diversity and richness of culture, and subsequently lived in Ghana, surrounded by colorful fabrics and art. Tatiana is currently based in France.
During her time at Columbia, Tatiana researched sex trafficking dynamics in and from the Russian Federation. She enjoyed studying at the Low Library steps, meeting and learning from other human rights advocates from around the world, as well as taking classes across disciplines.
“HRSMA creates a pathway to excel in human rights work, but your true success will be defined by survivors you are able to help practically.” - Tatiana Kotlyarenko
For human rights students interested in the anti-trafficking and sexual violence work, Tatiana recommends taking any class related to gender equality and migration. Victor Malarek's book Becoming Natashas spurred Tatiana's commitment to tackling these issues and Butterfly Politics by Catharine A. MacKinnon is a must-read for any student interested in this area of work.
In the coming years, Tatiana would like to continue translating her experience and expertise into real impact on the ground. “I would like to see myself in 10 years implementing solutions to eradicate human trafficking instead of trying to address elements of it,” Tatiana said.
Tatiana worked on the 2nd edition of the National Referral Mechanisms - Joining Efforts to Protect the Rights of Trafficked Persons: A Practical Handbook and Addressing Emerging Human Trafficking Trends and Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic, as well as providing technical support and capacity building to combat trafficking in human beings to OSCE participating states. She was responsible for launching the OSCE International Survivors of Trafficking Advisory Council. In response to the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine, which especially impacts women and children, Tatiana conducted rapid assessment missions and provided recommendations to countries on how to prevent and address trafficking of Ukrainian women and children. In addition, Tatiana works on issues related to sexual violence in conflict and the intersection between violence against women and girls and security issues. She has been the recipient of the Last Girl Awards in 2022, NYC Bar 2026 Huntington Her Hero Lifetime Achievement Award and is a member of BMW Responsible Leaders. Tatiana is a Board Member of Generative AI for Good, Save Ukraine, Women’s Platform for Action International, and a number of other NGOs.