Hadar Harris, a longtime advocate for justice, equity, and human rights, will join The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA as executive director of its Los Angeles location, beginning May 1. Her appointment marks a homecoming to UCLA Law, where she earned her J.D. and founded the school’s first ACLU chapter.

“I am thrilled to return to UCLA Law and to build on the tremendous work The Promise Institute has done since its founding,” says Harris. “At this tumultuous moment, when core commitments to fundamental human rights are seriously threatened, it is critically important for The Promise Institute to shape the discussion, explore new methods, and train future practitioners to help realize the full promise of human rights for all.”

An international human rights attorney and nonprofit leader, Harris brings more than two decades of experience across civil and political rights, freedom of expression, gender equality, and the domestic implementation of international law. She spent 13 years as executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law and most recently served as managing director of PEN America in Washington, D.C.

Prior leadership roles include serving as executive director of the Student Press Law Center, the Northern California Innocence Project, and the Congressional Human Rights Caucus under the late Congressman Tom Lantos. Across her career, Harris has led initiatives in more than two dozen countries, addressing issues ranging from torture prevention and business and human rights to disability rights and gender equity.

She is known for groundbreaking research on Armenia’s implementation of commitments to protect women’s rights — a project praised by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Passionate about working with students and early-career professionals, she is recognized for her collaborative approach, bringing together advocates, scholars, and students to drive new ideas and solutions.

“I like to bring people together who should be talking to each other but aren’t, and to find new intersections of ideas that can drive innovation,” says Harris.

The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA operates in two locations: UCLA School of Law in Los Angeles and The Hague in Europe. In Los Angeles, it offers innovative human rights courses, an extensive clinical program, and research locally and across the Americas; in Europe, it provides experiential education, student opportunities in key international institutions, and leadership in research and advocacy on environmental accountability and human rights enforcement. As executive director in Los Angeles, she will partner with Kate Mackintosh, executive director of the Europe office, and Anna Spain Bradley, faculty director of both locations. Harris succeeds Catherine Sweetser, who has served as interim executive director in Los Angeles since 2025, and will remain the deputy director, as well as director of its Human Rights Litigation Clinic.

Harris calls The Promise Institute “a key space for future lawyers and experienced advocates to come together to promote, protect and reimagine the way human rights are implemented at home and abroad."  

“We have an opportunity — and an obligation — during this period of global change, to reimagine how human rights work in practice and to work with the next generation of students and scholars to fully realize human rights at home and abroad,” she says. “I am thrilled to return to UCLA and to work with students and faculty to bring The Promise Institute to its next level of impact and engagement.”