HRAD Archive

The 2015 Human Rights Awards Dinner featured Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Sonia Nazario as the keynote speaker. Nazario is noted for her story Enrique's Journey, which describes a Honduran boy's struggle to flee violence in his home country and to find his mother in the United States. It was won more than a dozen awards, among them the Pulitzer Prize for featuring writing, the George Polk Award for International Reporting, and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award's Grand Prize. Expanded into a book, Enrique's Journey became a national bestseller and won three book awards.

Nazario has spent more than 20 years reporting and writing about social issues in the United States, most recently as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Nazario, who grew up in Kansas and Argentina, began her career at the Wall Street Journal. She has been named among the most influential Latinos by Hispanic Business Magazine and a "trendsetter" in 2012 by Hispanic Magazine.

The Advocates' Special Recognition Award was presented to VocalPoint Chorus and to Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL). VocalPoint Chorus, a 70-member auditioned chorus referred to as singers with a cause devoted to social justice, held two concerts in 2015 to benefit The Advocates' work to make a better, safer world for women. CTUL worker-leaders use human rights documentation and peer training to identify human rights abuses, then engage in direct action, litigation, policy advocacy, and partnerships to ensure better working conditions for low-wage immigrant, refugee, and citizens in Minnesota. CTUL's retail cleaning and fast food campaigns have resulted in greater dignity for too-often-invisible workers, and their new Defensores project helps to ensure that workers facing unsafe or unfair conditions can access legal protections.

Volunteer Awards were presented to:

• Eleni Beyene, Amharic translator and interpreter
• Elizabeth Cutter, presenter and commentator on domestic violence laws;
• Mary Diaz, Spanish interpreter for Central American clients;
• Jorg Pierach, on behalf of Fast Horse, the integrated marketing firm that designed The Advocates' brand and website;
• Carreen Heegaard, docent conducting human rights tours at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
• Sophia Leenay, French translator
• Teresa Mesa, Spanish interpreter and translator of Central American clients
• Ali Tews, Spanish translator
• Barbara Weissberger, Spanish interpreter in court for unaccompanied minors and families from Central America

The event was held Tuesday, June 16, 2015 at The Depot in downtown Minneapolis.

The 2014 Human Rights Awards Dinner's keynote speaker was Marilyn Carlson Nelson, who was also presented the 2014 Don and Arvonne Fraser Human Rights Award. Carlson Nelson, an extraordinary values-based leader and human rights advocate, is often best known for the success of the Carlson brands. The former Carlson CEO and board chair, she signed the travel industry's International Code of Conduct to end child prostitution, pornography, and trafficking. Carlson Nelson also co-founded the World Childhood Foundation, and she worked tirelessly to defeat the marriage amendment in Minnesota.

The 2014 Special Recognition Award was presented to Chimgee Haltarhuua, a Mongolian immigrant living in Saint Paul, Minnesota, who teaches and performs at Circus Juventas. She founded the circus group Mission Manduhai in 2010. The group travels in Mongolia, staging free performances for nomadic herders to raise awareness about the problem of domestic violence. A survivor of domestic violence, she has assisted The Advocates with its domestic violence work in Mongolia.

The 2014 Volunteer Awards were presented to Mark Petty, Julie Shelton, and Laura Tripiciano.

The event was held June 25, 2014, at the Minneapolis Hilton.

The 2013 Human Rights Awards Dinner celebrated The Advocates' 30 years working for dignity and justice. Ambassador Samuel L. Kaplan and Sylvia Kaplan delivered the event's keynote speech. Tireless campaigners for human rights, the Kaplans had spent four years previous to the Human Rights Awards Dinner representing the United States in the Kingdom of Morocco.

Minnesotans United for All Families and Our Vote Our Future were each presented with the 2013 Don and Arvonne Fraser Human Rights Award.

The event was held June 6, 2013, at the Minneapolis Hilton.

Ifrah Jimale, a former asylum client of The Advocates, was the event's keynote speaker. Actor and human rights activist, Mike Farrell was presented the 2012 Don and Arvonne Frase Human Rights Award. Best known for playing Captain B. J. Hunnicutt in the popular television series M*A*S*H*, Farrell is a human rights activist committed to abolishing the death penalty. At the time of the dinner, Farrell was president of Death Penalty Focus. He is the author of two books, Just Call Me Mike: a Journey to Actor and Activist and Of Mule and Man.

Volunteer Awards were presented to John Gutterman, Jr.; Rachel Hamlin; Robert Lewis; Sharon Link; and Hon. Kathryn Quaintance. The 2012 Special Recognition Award went to Safe Harbors Initiative, for its work to end the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children in Minnesota.

The event was held June 21, 2012, at the Minneapolis Hilton.

Keynote speaker and recipient of the 2011 Don and Arvonne Fraser Human Rights Award Recipient was Dr. Shirin Ebadi, the first woman judge in Iran. Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her courageous work supporting democracy and human rights. Her human rights work in Iran began with the Islamic Revolution in 1979, when she was dismissed from her position and made a clerk in the same court she once presided over. In 1992 she began a private law practice, taking child abuse cases; defending political dissidents, members of the minority Bahai faith, and journalists; and representing the families of people murdered by the government. Ebadi is the author of, Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope (2006), book published in 2006 and a New York Times bestseller. Her book, The Golden Cage, released in April 2011, was available at the Human Rights Awards Dinner.

The Special Recognition Award was presented to the Islamic Resource Group for its extraordinary contributions to intercultural understanding. Volunteer Awards went to Bill Cameron, Deborah Fowler, and Cuong Nguyen.

The event was held May 19, 2011, at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Keynote speaker and the 2010 Don and Arvonne Fraser Human Rights Award Recipient was Dr. Azar Nafisi, recognized internationally for her advocacy for advocacy for human rights, and especially women's rights, in Muslim societies. She has written extensively on women's rights in her home country of Iran, including the book Reading Lolita in Tehran. The winner of many literary awards, including the 2004 Nonfiction Award from Booksense and the Frederic W. Ness Book Award. Her other publications include Things I Have Been Silent About (2008); La Voce Verde (2006); Anti-Terra: A Study of Vladimir Nabokov's Novels (1994); and numerous chapters and articles on issues related to promoting democracy and human rights in Muslim societies, women's rights, and literature and culture. In 2010, Nafisi was a Visiting Professor and director of the Cultural Conversations at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC. She served on the faculty at Tehran University and later Allemeh Tabatabai University, and as a visiting fellow at the University of Oxford, she taught about the interactions between Western and Iranian culture. 

The 2010 Special Recognition Award was presented to Ellen Pence for her extraordinary contributions in protecting women's human rights, especially their right to be free from violence. Volunteer Awards were presented to R. Mark Frey and Rose Grengs.

The event was held May 20, 2010, at the Minneapolis Marriott City Center.

Dr. Sima Samar delivered the event's keynote speech and was presented the 2009 Don and Arvonne Fraser Human Rights Award. Samar, of Afghanistan, is a formidable advocate for human rights in Afghanistan. She established the country's first Ministry of Women's Affairs, and chaired the first human rights commission in Afghanistan's history. As a woman and ethnic minority, her courageous voice has brought about meaningful changes in the lives of Afghanis and has brought global attention to the egregious human rights abuses committed against her people, especially girls and women. At the time, Samar served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan, acting as an intelligent and objective observer for the international community during the horrors of the Darfur genocide.

The 2009 Special Recognition Award recipients were the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission Management Team; Dulce Foster; Dianne Heins; Mark Kalla; and Jim O'Neal.

The event was held June 23, 2009, at the Minneapolis Marriott City Center.

The 2008 Don and Arvonne Fraser Human Rights Awards were presented to Barbara A. Frey, co-founder of The Advocates for Human Rights and its first executive director, and to Samuel D. Heins, co-founder of The Advocates for Human Rights and its first chairperson.