About the Speaker
Jack
Healey
American human rights advocate and head of Human Rights Action Center
Jack Healey is a human rights advocate and the head of the Human Rights Action Center (HRAC). Ordained as a Catholic priest in 1966, Healey left the priesthood in 1968 to serve as director of the Peace Corps in Africa for five years before joining Amnesty International. He was the executive director of Amnesty International USA for 12 years. Healey spearheaded the implementation of programming that aimed to engage youth in human rights and encourage them to become involved in nonviolent activism. He organized numerous events to raise awareness about human rights, including concert tours with U2, The Police, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Tracy Chapman, and many other musicians. Healey is an advisor to the United States government on human rights issues and played a key role in the US campaign for Burma. He is a contributor to The Huffington Post, The New York Times, and independent blogs.