Minky Worden is an American
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
advocate and author. She serves as Director of Global Initiatives
at
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
. She has been an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs since 2013.
Early life and education
A native of Tennessee, Worden is a graduate of
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
where she majored in Political Science, German and History. She speaks Cantonese and German.
Career
Worden joined
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
in 1998.
As its Director of Global Initiatives, she develops and implements international outreach and advocacy campaigns. She previously served as Human Rights Watch's Media Director, working with the world’s journalists to help them cover crises, wars, human rights abuses and political developments in some 90 countries worldwide.
Worden speaks and writes extensively on the topics of political prisoners, women’s rights, and human rights and sports.
She previously lived and worked in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
as an adviser to
Democratic Party of Hong Kong
The Democratic Party (DP) is a centre-left liberal political party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Lo Kin-hei, it is the flagship party in the pro-democracy camp and currently has 7 elected representatives in the District Councils.
The party was es ...
chairman
Martin Lee
Martin Lee Chu-ming, SC, JP (; born 8 June 1938) is a Hong Kong politician and barrister. He is the founding chairman of the United Democrats of Hong Kong and its successor, the Democratic Party, Hong Kong's flagship pro-democracy party. He ...
and worked at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., as a speechwriter for U.S. Attorney General
Dick Thornburgh
Richard Lewis Thornburgh (July 16, 1932 – December 31, 2020) was an American lawyer, author, and Republican politician who served as the 41st governor of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1987, and then as the United States attorney general fro ...
and in the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys.
Worden is editor of ''China's Great Leap: The Beijing Games and Olympian Human Rights Challenges'' (
Seven Stories Press
Seven Stories Press is an independent American publishing company. Based in New York City, the company was founded by Dan Simon in 1995, after establishing Four Walls Eight Windows in 1984 as an imprint at Writers and Readers, and then incorpora ...
, 2008) and ''The Unfinished Revolution: Voices from the Global Fight for Women's Rights'' (Seven Stories Press, 2012). She was co-editor with
Kenneth Roth
Kenneth Roth (born September 23, 1955) is an American attorney, human rights activist, writer. He was the executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) from 1993 to 2022.
Early life
Kenneth Roth was born on September 23, 1955 in Elmhurst, Illino ...
and Amy Bernstein of ''Torture: Does It Make Us Safer? Is It Ever OK?: A Human Rights Perspective'' (
The New Press
The New Press is an independent non-profit public-interest book publisher established in 1992 by André Schiffrin[Christiane Amanpour
Christiane Maria Heideh AmanpourStated on ''Finding Your Roots'', 22 January 2019 (; fa, کریستیان امانپور, Kristiane Amānpur; born 12 January 1958) is a British-Iranian journalist and television host. Amanpour is the Chief ...]
. This book outlines the global challenge to secure basic rights for women and girls. Writers from around the world tackle some of the toughest questions about improving the lives of women, and explain why we need fresh approaches for the most vexing and durable abuses.
* ''China's Great Leap: The Beijing Games and Olympian Human Rights Challenges'' (Seven Stories Press, 2008)
: Foreword by
Nicholas Kristof
Nicholas Donabet Kristof (born April 27, 1959) is an American journalist and political commentator. A winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, he is a regular CNN contributor and an op-ed columnist for ''The New York Times''.
Born in Chicago, Kristof was ...
. China's Great Leap examines three decades of reform in the People's Republic of China in the context of the 2008 Olympic Games. With contributions from Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Liu Xiaobo
Liu Xiaobo (; 28 December 1955 – 13 July 2017) was a Chinese writer, literary critic, human rights activist, philosopher and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who called for political reforms and was involved in campaigns to end communist one-par ...
and other reformists, the book spotlights key areas for human rights reform that could represent a possible great leap forward for the people of China.
* ''Torture'' (
The New Press
The New Press is an independent non-profit public-interest book publisher established in 1992 by André Schiffrin[The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...]
''. September 7, 2017.
* "She Conquered Everest: Now She's Tackling Laws That Keep Women Out of Sport."
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
. May 11, 2017.
* "Beach Volleyball and Women's Rights in Iran?" CNN. February 4, 2016.
* "Human Rights and the 2022 Olympics". ''The New York Times''. January 19, 2015.
* "Raising the Bar: Mega-Sporting Events and Human Rights". Human Rights Watch World Report 2015.
* "Minky Worden: Russia's Anti-Gay Laws Threaten the Olympics' Character".
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
. November 22, 2013.
* "The Olympics’ Leadership Mess". ''The New York Times''. August 8, 2013.
* "In Saudi Arabia, Women Are Confined by Technology". ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''. December 24, 2012.
* "The View From the Empire State Building".
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
. October 20, 2003.
* "Hong Kong's Brave Struggle for Democracy." ''
The Asian Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal Asia'', a version of ''The Wall Street Journal'', was a newspaper that provided news and analysis of global business developments for an Asian audience. Formerly known as ''The Asian Wall Street Journal'', it was founde ...
''. July 2, 1998.
Boards of directors
* The Overseas Press Club, elected Associate Board of Governors Member (since 1999)
*
Asia Catalyst
Asia Catalyst is an Asian independent organization that promotes civil society and advances the right to health for marginalized groups in Asia. Since its founding in 2006 by Sara L.M. Davis, the organization has opened offices in New York,Unite ...
, Board Member (since 2009)
* The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Board Chair (since 2010)
* Platon’s The People’s Portfolio, Board Chair (since 2013)
* The Human Trafficking Legal Center, Board (since 2014)
Memberships and affiliations
*
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
, Member (since 1999)
*
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
, Term Member Advisory Committee (1999-2004)
*
Seven Stories Press
Seven Stories Press is an independent American publishing company. Based in New York City, the company was founded by Dan Simon in 1995, after establishing Four Walls Eight Windows in 1984 as an imprint at Writers and Readers, and then incorpora ...
, Advisory Board Member
Personal life
Worden is married to
L. Gordon Crovitz, a media executive and advisor to media and technology companies who is a former publisher of ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''. They have three sons.
At age 50, she completed her first Olympic triathlon.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worden, Minky
American human rights activists
Women human rights activists
Human Rights Watch people
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)