Staff Positions
The Human Rights Brief, a legal resource for the international human rights community, is a student-run publication of the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. The Brief is a unique legal publication that provides concise legal analysis on current human rights issues to over 6,000 scholars, practitioners, and human rights advocates in more than 90 countries. The staff of the Brief publishes three issues per academic year. In addition to writing and editing articles for the Brief, the staff participates in various projects on a voluntary basis throughout the year, including meetings with practitioners in the human rights field, community building activities, and coordination of events for the WCL and international communities.
The staff positions are described below. The application process for Senior Staff positions takes place toward the end of the spring semester and the application process for Junior Staff positions takes place during the first few weeks of school in the fall.
Senior Staff
- Co-Editors-in-Chief (Megan Chapman and Sara Waldron):
The Co-Editors are responsible for soliciting articles, communicating with the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law regularly, working with the publisher/printer, meeting with the Senior Staff on a regular basis, and ensuring the smooth running of the Human Rights Brief. The Co-Editors also review and edit every article and column included in the Brief. - Senior Articles Editors (Lindsey Randall and Christine Rhee):
The Senior Articles Editors organize the entire editing process, from creating a calendar to distributing assignments to communicating with authors. They review articles and handle PDF edits toward the end of the editing process. The Senior Articles Editors also educate the staff on common editing and grammatical mistakes, communicate editing deadlines, and update editing guidelines. - Managing Editor (Kate Kovarovic):
The Managing Editor is responsible for the overall smooth running of the office. She manages the database, office maintenance, and office hours. The managing editor also assists with the Alumni Committee and organizes periodic lunches with practitioners, trainings, volunteer opportunities, and events for the Human Rights Brief staff. The Managing Editor serves as the primary point of contact for the Brief's subscription service providers and subscribers regarding back-order requests, new subscriptions, and payment. Finally, the Managing Editor serves as a primary editor for at least one article per issue. - Blog Editor-in-Chief (Adrian Alvarez):
The Blog Editor-in-Chief is the primary staff member responsible for overseeing and implementing the new Human Rights Brief blog project, and editing, reviewing and maintaining the content of the blog. The Blog Editor also coordinates the staff blog committee. Finally, the Blog Editor serves as the primary editor for at least one article per issue. - Senior Blog Editors (Andrew Hill and Lindsay Otis):
The Senior Blog Editors assist with overseeing and implementing the new Human Rights Brief blog project, and editing, reviewing and maintaining the content of the blog. They will organize the entire editing process, from monitoring web content to communicating with blog writers. - Symposium Editor (Jenn Goldsmith):
The Symposium Editor is responsible for conceiving and organizing the HRB Founder's Day conference in the spring semester. Additionally, the Symposium Editor will be primarily responsible for organizing staff participation in events on and off campus. He or she will manage junior staff as they transcribe and write summaries of conference proceedings, and be responsible for the final edited product of these activities. Finally, the Symposium Editor serves as a primary editor for at least one article per issue.
Junior Staff
- Articles Editor:
The Brief accepts approximately 10 Articles Editor positions each academic year. Articles Editors assist the Senior Articles Editors throughout the editing process. Specifically, they are responsible for fact-checking, cite checking, and completion of final edits for the articles. They edit between two and four articles per issue, and have the opportunity to submit articles for publication. - Staff Writer:
The Brief maintains 12-15 Staff Writers each academic year. The Staff Writers are responsible for authoring the columns that are published in each issue (e.g., United Nations, Asia, Middle East, Africa, Inter-American System, European System, International Courts, Legislative Update, NGO Update, Center Update, Alumni Profile, and Book Reviews). Staff Writers choose the topics they will write on for their particular column or develop topics assigned by the Senior Staff, depending on the staff's needs.