NEW YORK—The Open Society Institute today announced the appointment of Maryam Elahi as the new director of the International Women's Program.

Under her leadership, the International Women's Program will collaborate with the global Soros foundations network to further develop programs and grantmaking on women's human rights, gender equality, and the role of women and girls in transitional justice.

"Maryam's deep commitment to human rights and gender equality and her extensive experience as an advocate are an invaluable addition to OSI's work in women's rights," said Aryeh Neier, president of the Open Society Institute.

Ms. Elahi comes to OSI from Trinity College in Connecticut, where she was the founding director of the Human Rights Program—one of the first undergraduate programs of its kind in the United States. She previously worked at Amnesty International, where she paved the way for Amnesty's work on gender-related human rights violations and served as the Washington office's advocacy director for the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.

Ms. Elahi has served as a delegate for Amnesty International, the United States Congress, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children on numerous human rights investigatory missions. Her work has included trips to Iraq, Kuwait, Turkey, Palestine, Israel, Algeria, Northern Ireland, Turkmenistan, Guatemala, and the INS detention facilities in California where refugee women and children are held. She has published articles on a variety of topics, and recently co-edited The Human Rights Papers, a collection of essays on the impact of the "war on terror" on human rights.

Ms. Elahi holds a JD from Boston College School of Law, a Master's Degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Williams College. She is a member of the Massachusetts and District of Columbia Bars.