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.
Masterpiece Cakeshop Inc. and Jack C. Phillips v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Charlie Craig, and David Mullins
William E. Trachman
On April 25, 2016, the Colorado Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of a...
Fisher v. UT–Austin and the Future of Racial Preferences in College Admissions
Elizabeth Slattery
Note from the Editor: This article discusses the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Fisher v. University...
California’s SCA 5 and Racial Preferences in Education
Anthony (Tom) Caso
Note from the Editor: This article is about racial preferences in education, specifically in the...
Topics
Supreme Court Preview: Fisher II
Two years ago, the Supreme Court’s 7-1 ruling in Fisher v. UT-Austin (Fisher I) made clear that...
In Whose Name We Pray: Restoring the Establishment Clause in Town of Greece v. Galloway
Kenneth A. Klukowski
Note from the Editor: This article is a discussion about the Establishment Clause issue in...
Who Said That?: A Simple Question That May Change the Way Courts View Legislative Prayer
Brett Harvey, Joel Oster
Related Opinions & Briefs: • Petition for Writ of Certiorari, Town of Greece v. Galloway:...
Veiled Meaning: Tolerance and Prohibition of the Hijab in the U.S. and France
Elizabeth K. Dorminey
Introduction France and the U.S. have much in common. Both nations share a commitment to...
School Discipline and Disparate Impact
John R. Martin
Note from the Editor: This paper analyzes the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed use of...
The Ohio Constitution of 1803, Jefferson's Danbury Letter, and Religion in Education
David W. Scott
That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to...
Minority Religious Communities at Risk
Randolph Marshall Bell, William L. Saunders, Christopher H. Smith, Tad Stahnke
Many commentators assert that there is no better measure of the human rights climate in...