Tad Stahnke joined Human Rights First in January 2008 as director of the Fighting Discrimination program, and currently serves as director of Policy and Programs. Prior to joining Human Rights First, Tad worked at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom from 2000 to 2007, where he served as Deputy Executive Director for Policy, as well as Acting Executive Director in 2002 and 2007. Tad led the Commission’s effort to strengthen U.S. foreign policy to advance the right to freedom of religion and belief. He participated in fact-finding missions in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, and served on official U.S. delegations to human rights conferences of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the United Nations. Tad has also served as an expert in international human rights law in training officials from the Departments of State, Justice, and Homeland Security.
Tad has worked as a research fellow and lecturer at Columbia Law School and as an associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in New York. He holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School, a Masters in Urban Planning from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service, and a B.A. in Metropolitan Studies from NYU. Tad was also a law clerk to Judge Wilfred Feinberg of the United States Court of Appeals for the 2ndCircuit.
Tad has authored and coauthored numerous scholarly publications, including “Religion-State Issues and the Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief: A Comparative Textual Analysis of the Constitutions of Predominantly Muslim States, “Religious Diversity in the European Union: an International Human Rights Perspective, “The Right to Engage in Religious Persuasion, andReligion and Human Rights: Basic Documents, amongst others.
Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide - An Overview by the Authors
Jonathan Bunch, Paul Marshall, Nina Shea
Silenced: Are Global Trends to Ban Religious Defamation, Religious Insult, and Islamophobia a New Challenge to First Amendment Freedoms?
The 1989 fatwa against Salman Rushdie and the deadly 2006 Danish cartoon riots brought worldwide...
Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide - An Overview by the Authors
Jonathan Bunch, Paul Marshall, Nina Shea
Silenced: Are Global Trends to Ban Religious Defamation, Religious Insult, and Islamophobia a New Challenge to First Amendment Freedoms?
The 1989 fatwa against Salman Rushdie and the deadly 2006 Danish cartoon riots brought worldwide...
Defending the Defense of Marriage Act
Gregory G. Katsas, Brian J. Paul
Indianapolis Lawyers Chapter
On August 18, 2011, the Indianapolis Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society hosted an event...
Minority Religious Communities at Risk
Randolph Marshall Bell, William L. Saunders, Christopher H. Smith, Tad Stahnke
Religious Liberties Practice Group and The First Freedom Center
Many commentators assert that there is no better measure of the human rights climate in...
Minority Religious Communities at Risk
Randolph Marshall Bell, William L. Saunders, Christopher H. Smith, Tad Stahnke
Religious Liberties Practice Group and The First Freedom Center
Many commentators assert that there is no better measure of the human rights climate in...
The First Amendment Online: Search, Privacy & Personalization
Trevor K. Copeland, Richard A. Epstein, James Grimmelmann, Jonathan Masur, Berin Szóka, Diane P. Wood
The Chicago Lawyers Chapter and the Corporations, Securities and Antitrust, Intellectual Property and Telecommunications Practice Groups
Congress is aflutter with online privacy bills, while arguments for regulating search engines, social networks...
The First Amendment Online: Search, Privacy & Personalization
Trevor K. Copeland, Richard A. Epstein, James Grimmelmann, Jonathan Masur, Berin Szóka, Diane P. Wood
The Chicago Lawyers Chapter and the Corporations, Securities and Antitrust, Intellectual Property and Telecommunications Practice Groups
Congress is aflutter with online privacy bills, while arguments for regulating search engines, social networks...
School Choice, Religious Freedom, and the Constitution(s)
Richard W. Garnett, Brian J. Paul
The Indianapolis Lawyers Chapter
On June 9, 2011, the Indianapolis Lawyers Chapter hosted Prof. Richard W. Garnett of the...
Birthright Citizenship
John C. Eastman, James C. Ho, Dean Reuter
Civil Rights Practice Group Podcast
The Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment states that "All persons born or naturalized in the...
Does the U.S. Constitution Require Same-Sex Marriage?
Jonathan H. Adler, Jacob H. Huebert, Mark P. Strasser, Edward Whelan
Columbus Lawyers Chapter
Does the Fourteenth Amendment require states to recognize same-sex marriages? A recent California federal district...