- Honorary Co-Chairs
Desmond Tutu
The Most Reverend Desmond M. Tutu is a South African cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. In 1984, Tutu became the second South African awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Tutu was elected and ordained the first black South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa. He chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa and is currently the chairman of The Elders. Tutu is vocal in his defense of human rights and campaigns for the oppressed in such countries as Burma, Sudan, and Zimbabwe. He also works to fight AIDS, poverty, and racism.
Václav Havel (In Memoriam)
Václav Havel was a Czech writer and dramatist. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia (1989-1992) and first President of the Czech Republic (1992-2003). He wrote more than 20 plays and numerous works of non-fiction, many of which have received international acclaim. After the 1968 Prague Spring, he became increasingly active in the politics of Czechoslovakia. In 1977, his involvement with the human rights manifesto Charter 77 brought him international fame as the leader of the political opposition in Czechoslovakia. In 1979 the communist regime sentenced him to four-and-a-half years imprisonment for subversion. The 1989 “Velvet Revolution” launched Havel into the presidency. In this role, he led Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic, into capitalism and multi-party democracy.
Mr. Havel served as Honorary Co-Chair of Freedom Now, engaging on many of our cases including Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Aung San Suu Kyi and Liu Xiaobo, from 2006 until his death on December 18, 2011.
Board of DirectorsJeremy Zucker
Jeremy is the Chair of Freedom Now and a partner in the international trade group of Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining Hogan Lovells, Jeremy served as a law clerk at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, The Netherlands. Jeremy holds a B.A. in ethics, politics, and economics from Yale University, a Master in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a J.D. magna cum laude from New York University Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the NYU Journal of International Law and Politics and a Fellow of the Center for International Studies. He is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Jared Genser
Jared Genser is the Founder of Freedom Now and Managing Director of Perseus Strategies, LLC. Previously, Jared was a partner in the government affairs group of DLA Piper LLP and a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, the global strategy consulting firm. He was named by the National Law Journal as one of “40 Under 40: Washington’s Rising Stars.” Jared formerly taught semester-long seminars about the UN Security Council as a Lecturer at the University of Michigan and University of Pennsylvania law schools. He was a 2006-2007 Visiting Fellow with the National Endowment for Democracy. His human-rights clients have included former Czech Republic President Václav Havel, former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Aung San Suu Kyi, Liu Xiaobo, Desmond Tutu, and Elie Wiesel. He holds a B.S. from Cornell University, a Master in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he was an Alumni Public Service Fellow, and a J.D. cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. Jared is co-editing The Responsibility to Protect: The Promise of Ending Mass Atrocities in Our Times (Oxford University Press 2011) with former Canadian Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler. He is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Teresita Alvarez-Bjelland
Teresita Alvarez-Bjelland is a member of the Board of Directors of Freedom Now and an independent consultant and professional board member residing in Oslo, Norway. After holding executive management positions with Estee Lauder, Bates Advertising, and Johnson Wax, she turned her energies to non-profit boards, specifically focused on education, cultural exchange, and human rights. She is the immediate past President of the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA). She was the first woman from outside the U.S. as well as the first Hispanic to hold this position. Her theme of public service during her presidency resonated with alumni and culminated in the establishment of ten public service fellowships. Among her present positions, Teresita serves on the HAA Executive Board, Norwegian-American Foundation Board of Directors, and Kistefos Fellowship Advisory Board. She received an A.B. from Harvard University, M.Sc. from the London School of Economics, where she attended on a Rotary Fellowship, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Peter Magyar
Peter Magyar is a member of the Board of Directors of Freedom Now and founder of Magyar & Co, a boutique international law firm. Previously he was Senior Partner and General Counsel of an international investment group with over $6 billion of assets and a Partner of Baker & McKenzie, where he headed the firm’s European securities practice and was a member of the London office’s Management Committee and the Managing Partner of its Budapest office. Peter is the recipient of various awards and citations in the legal press recognizing his work in the fields of privatization and international capital markets. He holds degrees from The London School of Economics and Oxford University. He will be helping lead Freedom Now’s expansion into Europe.