In August 2026, PBI-USA launched a 9-Month Solidarity Fellowship focused on strengthening protections and supports for human rights defenders at home and abroad. Fellowships provide hands-on experience in international advocacy, nonprofit coordination, and public education.
Read below to learn more about the fellows selected for the 2026-2027 cohort.
2026-27 PBI-USA Solidarity Fellows:
Amna joins the PBI USA Solidarity Fellowship with a background working with gender justice, advocacy and health equity organizations. She has primarily worked in Guatemala, Zambia and Philadelphia. She is also a multimedia-journalist in training and is based in Washington D.C. She is excited and grateful for the opportunity to become acquainted with the valuable work of the women human rights and environmental defenders across the PBI network. She is looking forward to amplifying the work of these defenders through storytelling.
Meredith recently graduated cum laude from the University of Miami with a B.A. in Political Science and Psychology, and is currently pursuing an M.A. in International Administration with a Security Management Certificate. Her academic and professional interests focus on international security, political violence, civilian protection, human rights, and community-based responses to violence and instability. Through her work with Chicago Area Peace Action, she has researched unarmed civilian protection, community violence intervention, and nonviolent approaches to safety in both local and international contexts. During the fellowship, Meredith will focus on the protection of civic space for human rights defenders, with particular attention to how international solidarity can strengthen locally led movements for safety, dignity, and justice.
Alexis is a Civil Engineering student at The University of Texas at El Paso with a passion for environmental justice, water sustainability, and community-centered climate solutions.
As a 2026–2027 PBI-USA Solidarity Fellow, she will focus on climate justice and the protection of land and environmental defenders, particularly the challenges faced by communities along the U.S.–Mexico border. Through the fellowship, she hopes to connect her background in engineering, water sustainability, and community advocacy with PBI’s work supporting human rights defenders. Alexis is excited to learn from fellow advocates, strengthen her skills in advocacy and international solidarity, and explore how climate action, environmental justice, and human rights intersect to create safer and more resilient communities.
Joyce (she/her) is a masters student in the department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at the University of Florida. She graduated from Spelman College, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Comparative Women’s Studies with a self-designed focus in Feminist Socio-legal Studies and served as a Social Justice Fellow and co-founder of Project Reproductive Justice. She is passionate about sexual violence prevention, reproductive justice, and global women’s and sexuality rights struggles. Her thematic focus in the protection of Women’s Human Rights Defenders is derived of those very interests in the political, social, economic, and cultural autonomy of women, girls, and sexualized minorities. She hopes to pursue both an academic and nonprofit career in global human rights protection, using advocacy as a tool to create equitable communities among all.
Past PBI-USA Fellows:
In Fall 2014, PBI-USA hired our first advocacy fellow, Mariel Ortega, to support the advocacy objectives of our field teams. After a year of tremendous work, Mariel wrapped up her final month in the position in September 2015. Mariel was an invaluable team member during her time with PBI-USA and we wish her well in her continued work in human rights! The advocacy fellowship transitioned into the jointly-funded PBI-USA Advocacy Director position held by Pat Davis from 2016-2025.