This organizational directory is a collection of national organizations that engage in human rights education activities across the United States. If you would like to add your organization, please contact us.
* Indicates founding organization
The Advocates for Human Rights*
The Advocates for Human Rights is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and protecting human rights. Through cutting-edge research, education, and advocacy, The Advocates saves lives, fights injustice, restores peace, and builds the human rights movement in the United States and around the world.
Africa Center, University of Pennsylvania
The Africa Center at the University of Pennsylvania is recognized as a vital and forward-looking center where researchers, students and cultural and business entities come to gain knowledge of historical and contemporary Africa.
American Friends Service Committee
AFSC is a Quaker organization devoted to service, development, and peace programs throughout the world. Their work is based on the belief in the worth of every person, and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.
American Red Cross*
The American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education in the United States. Their resources for educators include a curriculum on exploring humanitarian law.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people who take injustice personally. They campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all.
Amnesty International USA*
Amnesty USA investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and helps transform societies to create a safer, more just world.
Arte Justice
ARTE (Art and Resistance Through Education) Justice is an organization dedicated to elevating the voices of young people. They promote an arts curriculum for young people which emphasizes creativity, global thinking, and local leadership to create advocates in the global movement of youth for human rights and global democracy.
Association for Childhood Education International
For over 125 years, the Association for Childhood Education International has addressed the underservice of children’s early education, responding to particularly staggering statistics in the developing world. ACEI runs three primary programs: The Center for Education Diplomacy (a leadership program), Global Schools First (a membership coalition for primary schools), and Innovation Exchange (a conference for groundbreaking ideas in education). Each program furthers its goals by operating on the basis that “education is essential to human development.”
Boat People SOS
Boat People SOS started as a nonprofit organization to save the Boat People of Vietnam who fled their home country under the communist regime. They have since expanded to the wider threats of exploitation, trafficking, and persecution of refugees worldwide. They provide educational and relief services to affected victims both in and out of the United States.
Bright Horizons Cornell
The Bright Horizons Day Care Center at Cornell University works to enrich early childhood education by instilling community-oriented values and using real-world hands-on activities.
Center for Civic Education
The Center for Civic Education is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in California. The Center’s programs are implemented with the assistance of a network of public- and private-sector organizations and educational leaders in every state and congressional district in the country and in more than eighty other countries, many of which are emerging and advanced democracies.
Center for Global Awareness
Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, The Center for Global Awareness promotes a conversation about global change that transcends cultural boundaries by providing books and other study materials to high school and college students.
Center for Health and Human Rights
The Center for Health and Human Rights is a nonprofit based in Virginia dedicated to providing quality medical care and community education to underserved populations. CHHR runs programs focused on domestic abuse, substance abuse, homelessness, and immigrant health care in addition to a robust program in Human Rights Education for local communities.
Center for Human Rights, University of Iowa
Iowa Center for Human Rights’ mission is the promotion and protection of human rights at home and abroad through distinguished multidisciplinary leadership in human rights research, education, and public service to The University of Iowa, its surrounding communities, the State of Iowa, and beyond.
Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education at Florida Atlantic University
The Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education (CHHRE) at Florida Atlantic University presents cutting-edge training and resources to teachers involved in Holocaust and genocide education. The Center offers workshops, advanced seminars, and summer institutes for K-12 teachers working in the fields of history, arts, languages, religion, science, technology, politics, and social studies.
Center for Study of Genocide, Conflict Resolution, and Human Rights
Established in 2007, the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights (CGHR) based at the Rutger-Newark College of Arts and Sciences has established itself as a leader in the study of world challenges ranging from the devastation of genocide to the process of conflict resolution and peacebuilding.
Center for World Education, College of Education & Social Services
The College of Education and Social Services (CESS) at the University of Vermont prepares outstanding professionals in education, social work, and human services. We are passionate and deeply committed to student engagement and success within a culture of academic excellence, innovation, experiential learning, and social justice.
Children of Imprisoned Parents International
COIPI addresses the tangible and intangible challenges faced by children with incarcerated parents. The organization practices a forgiving policy of unconditional support by helping children with parents incarcerated for any reason, recognizing that it is often due to circumstances larger than their own stories. COIPI also offers workshops for teachers focused on the effects of parental incarceration on children.
Creative Educators International Network
The Creative Educators International Network a non-profit NGO dedicated to inspiring educators who are implementing Value-Creating Education in different ways. Through deepening our own understanding and compassion, we are determined to lay the foundation and construction of a United Nations of Education.
Dorothy Cotton Institute*
Named in honor of Civil Rights legend, Dorothy Cotton, The Dorothy Cotton Institute advances the knowing, sharing, and protection of human rights. The institute offers popular education and training to inspire and support people who want to foster and protect human rights and to advance civic participation for social transformation.
Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown is a private residential college of 1900 students pursuing degrees in liberal arts, STEM, professional fields and education. It is located in Elizabethtown, PA.
Each One Teach One: EOTO World
EOTO World seeks to provide safe spaces for human rights activists to transmit their knowledge and skills in human rights to a global audience, contribute to global efforts to address the Millennium Development Goals, and promote a culture of peace.
Embrey Human Rights Program, Southern Methodist University
The Embrey Human Rights Program (EHRP) at Southern Methodist University educates students and other members of the global community to understand, promote, and defend human rights as responsible citizens of the world.
Facing History and Ourselves
Facing History and Ourselves is an international educational and professional development organization. Its mission is to engage students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and anti-Semitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry.
Girls Learn International
Girls Learn International (GLI),a program of the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF), is educating and energizing middle and high school students to boldly take action for human rights, gender equity and access to education. Together with student leaders, including the Student Advisory Board, GLI is building a movement of informed advocates and a new generation of leaders and activists for social change.
Global Nomads Group
Global Nomads Group fosters dialogue and understanding among the world’s youth, using technology to enable conversations between middle school and high school students who otherwise would not meet.
Groton Public Library
The Groton Public Library serves the town of Groton, MA.
Human Rights Connected
Human Rights Connected is a nonprofit based in Washington DC comprised of a network of resources about the legal framework of human rights. The organization believes in the power of knowledge as a vital step toward change. It conducts research and continues to build a vast library to empower individuals and communities on issues of human rights.
Human Rights Education Associates*
HREA is an international non-governmental organization that supports human rights education; the training of human rights defenders and professional groups; and the development of educational materials and programming.
Human Rights Center, University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Human Rights Center and its Human Rights Library disseminates human rights education primary documents and teaching and training models, manuals, and other resources.
Human Rights Watch Student Task Force*
The Human Rights Watch Student Task Force (STF) is a youth leadership-training program that brings together high school students and educators from the Los Angeles area and empowers them to advocate for human rights issues, especially the rights of children.
Humane Education Coalition
The Humane Education Coalition collaborates internationally to ensure humane treatment of all living things. Their Education Initiative hosts the annual Humane Summit bringing together voices from the fields of human rights, social justice, animal and environmental rights, and education for a truly collaborative approach to the mission. Also read this Partner Highlight by 2018 HRE USA intern, Lucy Knox.
i-ACT
iACT provides humanitarian action to those affected by mass atrocities. It trains and employs refugees to adapt and lead education, sports, and human rights programs in their communities.
Independent Commission on Public Education
Believing that all children, their families, and teachers have a human right to dignity in schools, the Independent Commission on Public Education (iCOPE) works to develop an alternative vision of public education based on human rights principles, especially in New York City.
Institute for the Study of Human Rights, Columbia University
The Institute for the Study of Human Rights (ISHR) is committed to its three core goals: providing interdisciplinary human rights education to Columbia students, fostering innovative academic research, and offering its expertise in capacity building to human rights leaders, organizations, and universities around the world.
Interdisciplinary Human Rights Initiative, San Diego State University
The Interdisciplinary Human Rights Initiative (IHRI) of the College of Arts and Letters (CAL) at San Diego State University (SDSU) supports and promotes human rights research and education at SDSU, as well as opportunities for engagement with human rights organizations in San Diego County and in the San Diego-Tijuana binational area.
It Gets Better Project
The It Gets Better Project is a global movement to uplift LGBTQ+ youth and empower queer communities to overcome the societal challenges they face. The Project’s educational initiatives focus on core ideas of acceptance, inclusivity, and compassion.
Justice Revival
Justice Revival is a Christian community with a mission to mobilize people toward the “biblical call to justice.” The organization aims to defend human rights for everyone by envisioning an educational curriculum which highlights the scholarship of human rights education paired with the values of Christianity.
Myron Fund
Myron Fund advocates for the promotion of human rights within the global justice system as well as peace, democracy and the rule of law. We aim to achieve this through research, public policy, and media advocacy, International diplomacy, community projects, and eventually direct legal services.
National Youth Leadership Council
The National Youth Leadership Council works to create a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world with young people, their schools, and their communities through young people, their schools, and their communities through service-learning.
New Roads School
New Roads School provides an inspired college preparatory program to a diverse student population that mirrors the rich diversity of Los Angeles. It encourages collaboration among students, parents, and teachers to develop the tools needed for social, political and moral participation as well as personal fulfillment.
Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy, Northeastern University
The Program is affiliated with the Northeastern University School of Law. PHRGE supports scholarship with a focus on economic development and social transformation. The Program aims to foster a dialogue about human rights within the community at Northeastern and beyond.
PRYDE for Peace
PRYDE for Peace partners with communities to engage their youth on nonviolent, restorative approaches to conflict, and equip them with the knowledge and skills they seek to be leaders for the peaceful social development of their societies.
Puffin Foundation
The Puffin Foundation Ltd. provides grants to artists and art organizations who are often excluded from mainstream opportunities due to their race, gender, or social philosophy.
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights*
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights is a nonprofit human rights advocacy organization. It was named after United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, a few months after his assassination. It advocates for human rights issues and pursues strategic litigation to hold governments accountable at home and around the world.
Robert H. Jackson Center
Robert H. Jackson Center advances public awareness of the principles of justice embodied in the achievements of Robert H. Jackson, U.S. Supreme Court Justice and Chief U.S. Prosecutor at Nuremberg. The Center engages educators to design creative ways to educate and school children, college students, attorneys, judges and public officials to discuss and reflect on the universal principles of equality, fairness, and justice.
Sahel Research and Strategy Group
Sahel Research and Strategy Group promotes and supports the development of democratic governments in the Horn of Africa. Founded by concerned Somali professionals in Minnesota, it partners with local and national governments in the Horn of Africa to stabilize fragmented regions by creating healthy economies and civic participation.
Schools for Chiapas
Schools for Chiapas is an organization of grassroots activists and communities working to support the autonomous, indigenous Zapatista communities of Chiapas, Mexico. It was created in the mid-1990’s by individuals searching for ways to make the world a better place and working to create a world where all worlds fit.
Social Impact Media Awards
The Social Impact Media Awards support work in film with outstanding social impact. Their mission is to “amplify creative storytelling that inspires activism, compassion and social transformation.” SIMA honors documentary films that use the medium to advocate for human rights issues.
The Summer Institute for Human Rights and Genocide Studies
The Summer Institute provides in-depth human rights education for students and teachers in the Buffalo area.
Spain Park High School
Located in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover, Spain Park High School has been consistently recognized as one of the outstanding schools in Alabama.
Teaching for Change
Teaching for Change provides teachers and parents with the tools to create schools where students learn to read, write and change the world.
Teaching Tolerance, Southern Poverty Law Center
Teaching Tolerance combats prejudice among US youth while promoting equality, inclusiveness, and equitable learning environments in the classroom. It produces and distributes free anti-bias resources to educators across the country, including Teaching Tolerance magazine.
Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut
The Dodd Center seeks to advance human rights education through its K-12 initiative in Connecticut public schools, through the scholarly use of the Thomas J. Dodd Papers, and through its International Justice Research Fellowship.
Universal Human Rights Initiative
Universal Human Rights Initiative seeks to educate about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Its UDHR Video Project of seeks to record native speakers reading the Declaration in every known language.
University and College Consortium for Human Rights Education
The University and College Consortium for Human Rights Education (UCCHRE) is a network of members of the university and college communities globally engaged in human rights education. The Consortium’s mission is to further human rights learning, research, policy, and practice within and across university and college communities through collaboration.
Upstander Project
Defining upstander as someone who stands up, speaks out, and/or takes action in defense of those who are targeted for harm, the project challenges indifference to injustice and raises awareness of the need for upstanders, especially among teachers and their students.
US Fund for UNICEF
UNICEF USA supports UNICEF’s work through fundraising, advocacy, and education in the United States.
Voice of Witness
Voice of Witness (VOW) promotes human rights and dignity by amplifying the voices of people impacted by injustice. Through its oral history book series and education program, VOW fosters a more nuanced, empathy-based understanding of human rights crises.
Wings Academy High School
Located in the Bronx, Wings Academy is a small, personalized learning-centered public high school focused on preparing students for the 21st century. A member of the Coalition of Essential Schools, Wings Academy is committed to a philosophy of small classes, student-centered classes, teachers-as-coaches, and performance-based assessment.
World Savvy
World Savvy is a national education nonprofit that works with educators, schools, and districts to integrate the highest quality of global competence teaching and learning into K-12 classrooms so all young people can be prepared to meet the challenges of 21st-century citizenship.
Woven Teaching
Dedicated to the inclusion of human rights and social responsibility in the curriculum. Woven Teaching offers online forums for collaboration, comprehensive historical information, unit planning, age-appropriate lesson plans, effective communication strategies, and in-person workshops.
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