Michele Garnett McKenzie
Michele Garnett McKenzie leads The Advocates for Human Rights, ensuring the organization fulfills its mission to promote civil society and reinforce the rule of law. As Executive Director, she is responsible for all aspects of The Advocates' programming and operations.
After serving as an intern and volunteer, Michele joined The Advocates' staff in 1999 as an attorney representing asylum seekers and detained immigrants. She later managed the organization's immigration legal services program, domestic policy advocacy, strategic communications, and operations. Michele has documented and reported on human rights issues and is the author of publications on human trafficking and immigrant rights.
Michele has served on the national leadership team of the Immigration Advocates Network and chair of Detention Watch Network. She chaired the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault public policy committee, served on the Minnesota Human Trafficking Task Force, and is part of the Immigrant Defense Network's steering committee. She is admitted to practice in the State of Minnesota and has worked as an adjunct clinical faculty member of Mitchell Hamline College of Law and the University of Minnesota Law School.
Michele believes we are all called to stand up, because dignity and justice are not optional - they're our responsibility.
Prior to joining The Advocates, Michele was in private immigration practice and served as a judicial law clerk for the Executive Office for Immigration Review in Arizona and Nevada. She received her J.D. cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School and her B.A. cum laude from Macalester College.
Publications
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Human Rights Tools for a Changing World - UN Advocacy
January 29, 2024 -
Immigration Issue Brief: Unaccompanied Children
October 4, 2023 -
Human Rights Tools for a Changing World - National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs)
November 4, 2022 -
Seeking Release from Immigration Custody
October 24, 2022 -
Immigration Detention and COVID-19: Illuminating Human Rights Concerns in Minnesota Jails
March 1, 2021 -
Bearing Witness in the Moment: Report from the Immigration Court Observation Project
January 1, 2020 -
Safe Harbor for All: Strategic Planning Process Report
October 1, 2018 -
Discover Human Rights: A Human Rights Approach to Social Justice
May 1, 2017 -
Asking the Right Questions: A Human Rights Approach to Ending Trafficking and Exploitation in the Workplace
January 1, 2016 -
Human Rights Tools for a Changing World: A step-by-step guide to human rights fact-finding, documentation, and advocacy
January 1, 2015 -
Paving Pathways for Justice & Accountability: Human Rights for Diaspora Communities
January 1, 2014 -
Moving from Exclusion to Belonging: Immigrant Rights in Minnesota Today
April 1, 2013 -
Safe Harbor: Fulfilling Minnesota's Promise to Protect Sexually Exploited Youth
February 1, 2013 -
A Practitioner’s Guide to Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation and Advocacy
January 3, 2011 -
Human Rights in Ethiopia: Through the Eyes of the Oromo Diaspora
December 1, 2009 -
A House with Two Rooms: Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia Diaspora Project
January 1, 2009
