Liz Shelbred
Human Rights Intern
From a young age, my parents instilled within me the power of curiosity, and provided me with the resources to broaden my perspective. My travels to various parts of the world sparked my interests in human rights, migration, and conflict resolution, and led me to research the transformative power of critical pedagogy.
I am a senior at Tufts University pursuing a double major in International Relations and Civic Studies, with concentrations in Security and Peace and Justice Studies. Since my first year at Tufts, The Tufts Daily has provided me not only with a strong community but also a means of preserving the truth and mobilizing change on campus. I have served as Associate Editor, Executive Opinion Editor, and a member of the Editorial Board. Currently, I write for the Investigative section and am on the Journalism Education and Diversity Report Committees at the Daily. I have also been a member of Amnesty International at Tufts, where I have learned about practical ways to prevent human rights abuses and deliver justice. Additionally, as part of the Tufts Experimental College’s Explorations program, I am teaching a first-year course on the covert history of CIA involvement in Latin America.
I followed my interest in transformative education to Education for Employment (EFE), where I aided in assembling a global network of prominent influencers, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists to fund and promote EFE’s Fall 2020 Women’s Empowerment campaign across the MENA region. In the spring of 2020, I volunteered with the World Peace Foundation to track the spread of COVID-19 in prisons, jails, and ICE detention centers. With the Oslo Scholars program at the Tufts Institute for Global Leadership, I interned for Jamila Raqib and the Albert Einstein Institution this summer. There, I tracked nonviolent action in the news, researched the role of digital technologies and social media in nonviolent resistance, and aided in developing the AEI 2.0 platform. In October, I will be attending the Oslo Freedom Forum in Miami.
After college, I hope to pursue a career in human rights law and conflict resolution. I joined The Trebuchet to follow my belief in education and community to be the keys to dismantling systems of oppression and division.