Dokhi Fassihian, Executive Director

Ms. Fassihian is the Executive Director of the Democracy Coalition Project, where she oversees the implementation of multilateral human rights strategies through the United Nations and other international fora. Fassihian has ten years of experience in policy research and analysis, non-profit management, and international development. Before joining DCP in 2005, Fassihian was the executive director of the National Iranian American Council, where she led the Iranian American community to several ground-breaking victories in the area of civil rights.

Fassihian has also worked as a research analyst of the Middle East and national security policies for the CNA Corporation. Her work in international development and advocacy has focused on governance, civic empowerment, and human rights. In the late 1990s, Fassihian worked for the Governance Unit of the United Nations Development Program in Tehran, Iran. Before that, she worked for the Sisterhood Is Global Institute, an international human rights organization.

Fassihian holds a Master of Arts in Advanced International Studies from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies with a focus on the Middle East and International Economics.

Areas of Expertise: Post 9/11 Civil Liberties and Immigration Policies, Civil-Military Relations, U.S.-Mideast Policy, Governance, Human Rights

Region of Expertise: Middle East

 

Tracy Baumgardt, Program Coordinator

Ms. Baumgardt holds the position of Program Coordinator at the Democracy Coalition Project. Most recently, she worked with Child Protection International, an organization she and few of her fellow graduate students began in October of 2007 to address child abduction in South Sudan and, later, associated children’s rights violations around the world.  There she was responsible for assisting in advocacy efforts, NGO partner development and researching and analysis of child protection issues.  In the summer of 2007, she interned with the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO) in Geneva, Switzerland, where she provided daily reports on the 5th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.  In addition, she aided in the management of the Civil Society Development Forum.

Born and raised in Minnesota, Baumgardt graduated with honors from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs with a Masters of Global Public Policy and a minor in Human Rights. While pursuing her degree she completed two internships with the Advocates for Human Rights, where she worked on issues of human trafficking, domestic violence and women’s rights.

Areas of Expertise: Women and Children's Rights, Social Justice and International Development

Region of Expertise: Africa

Jennifer Henrichsen, Project Assistant

Before joining DCP, Ms. Henrichsen worked at the International Crisis Group’s DC office, where she worked as the Special Projects Assistant to the Senior Vice President and as a media intern in the communications department. In June 2009, Henrichsen completed an Advanced Masters in International and European Security from the University of Geneva’s European Institute and the Geneva Center for Security Policy. While at the Institute, she also conducted Fulbright research on the legal implications of embedded journalists in international armed conflict. Her research was published in the academic journal, War, Media & Conflict in August 2009.

Prior to her studies, she worked as a freelance journalist at the United Nations in Geneva, where she wrote articles about the Human Rights Council for the Human Rights Tribune. Henrichsen grew up on an old dairy farm in Fife, Washington and loves to downhill ski, run, play volleyball and do yoga.

Areas of Expertise: International and European Security, International Humanitarian Law and Conflict Management

Region of Expertise: Europe

 

Allison Garland, Project Coordinator

Ms. Garland has worked as program associate for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholar’s Comparative Urban Studies Project (2005-present) and for the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program (1994-2000). She has co-edited and contributed to several books about governance, global urbanization, and poverty, including most recently Urban Diversity: Space, Culture, and Inclusive Pluralism in Cities Worldwide (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010).  At the Wilson Center, she has also organized workshops and conferences that bring together government officials, academics, and NGO leaders to better understand policies that deepen democracy and enhance the role of civil society.

Prior to joining the Wilson Center, she worked as the Assistant to the President of the National Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Managua, Nicaragua (1989-1990) where she helped prepare reports for international human rights watch organizations.  She also worked for the American Jewish World Service, an international development organization.  She received her M.A. in international affairs from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A. in political science from Wellesley College.

Areas of Expertise: Global Urbanization and Poverty, Local Governance, and Citizen Security

Region of Expertise: Latin America

 

 

 

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