International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies
IAOHRA 2023
Annual Training Conference
August 13 - 17, Bethesda, MD
"PROTECTING CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS AROUND THE WORLD"
The mission of the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies (IAOHRA) is to provide opportunities and forums for the exchange of ideas and information among member agencies and other human rights advocates.
IAOHRA assists in developing programs for eliminating illegal discrimination in employment, housing, education, public accommodations, public services, and commercial transactions, including banking and lending practices.
We develop educational programs on human rights and civil rights issues and serve as a clearinghouse for information exchange between human rights agencies around the world.
Our Mailing Address and Email Has Changed! Please update your records accordingly.
Mailing Address
6218 Georgia Avenue, N.W., Ste 1 -690
Washington, DC. 20011-5125
Email: iaohra@iaohra.org
Our Mission
GET INVOLVED
We connect you to the best and brightest experts in every issue area critical to the human and civil rights effort through IAOHRA meetings and professional training opportunities, you’ll connect with civil rights professionals with your same interests and concerns. Become a Member - Join Us
PAY MEMBER DUES
Pay All State, County, Individual and Sponsorship memberships here.
SUPPORT OUR WORK
Since 1949, IAOHRA supporters have been vigilant and vigorous defenders of civil and human rights for all. We’ve made great progress on important issues, but there is much more work to be done.
You are vital to IAOHRA in assisting us in fulfilling our goal.
We have more civil and human rights history to make.
OUR OBJECTIVE
The goals of IAOHRA are:
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To foster human and intergroup relations.
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To enhance human rights practices under law.
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To promote civil and human rights around the world.
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The association has provided leadership in the development and enforcement of needed statutes and ordinances-local, state, and federal - to safeguard the human and civil rights of all people.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2023
PHRC Executive Director appointed to Presidential Advisory Commission
Harrisburg, PA- Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) Executive Director Chad Dion Lassiter, MSW has been appointed by President Biden to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence and Economic Opportunities for Black Americans.
“As a proud graduate of an HBCU, Johnson C. Smith University and the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, I am honored to join this group of dedicated Americans to develop solutions to dismantle systemic and institutional racism and create more economic and educational opportunities for Black Americans,” said Chad Dion Lassiter, MSW. “During my time as the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, I have worked to intentionally create a culture of peace, understanding and tolerance while pursuing justice and eradicating discrimination. I plan to bring that same culture of thinking to this Commission.”
“This Advisory Commission will benefit greatly from Chad Dion Lassiter’s wealth of knowledge and experience,” said PHRC Chair M. Joel Bolstein. “His vision and leadership have enabled the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission to become one of the nation’s leading civil rights agencies. He is exactly who the nation needs to identify the appropriate programs and initiatives to create equitable and economic opportunities for Black Americans.”
The Commission will primarily focus on: 1) promoting career pathways for Black students through programs such as internships, apprenticeships and work-based learning initiatives, 2) increasing public awareness of the educational disparities Black Americans face and providing solutions to these problems, and 3) establishing local and national relationships with public, private, philanthropic, and nonprofit stakeholders to advance the mission of equity, excellence, and economic opportunity for Black Americans.
“I want to congratulate Chad Dion Lassiter on this well-deserved honor,” said U.S. Representative Dwight Evans (PA-03). “He serves the public well as Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, as he has done in numerous other leadership roles.”
Lassiter is a national expert in the field of American race relations who has worked on race, peace and poverty-related issues in the United States, Africa, Canada, Haiti, Israel, and Norway. As executive director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, he has developed and launched a “No Hate in Our State Townhall” to address the surge of White Nationalism in Pennsylvania, a “Social Justice Lecture Series” providing an outlet for communities to discuss imperative issues and serves as a Racial Reduction Response team for those communities impacted by hatred. Lassiter has also developed programs such as the “Global Social Justice Initiative,” “Black and Jewish Beloved Community Dialogue,” and the “College Race Dialogue Initiative.”
Lassiter received his master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Social Work, where he was the A. Phillip Randolph Award winner in 2001 and was the recipient of the prestigious Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Involvement Award in 2008. Lassiter is the co-founder and current president of The Black Men at Penn School of Social Work Inc., an organization within the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania, the first Ivy League Black male group of social workers. In 2019, he was inducted into the School of Social Policy and Practice Alumni Hall of Fame.
Lassiter was recently chosen as the National Association of Social Workers- Pennsylvania chapter's Social Worker of the Year for 2021 and was recognized by The Philadelphia Tribune as Most Influential African American Leader from 2010 to 2022.
Chad Lassiter, Malcolm Kenyatta among Biden appointees | Across America | phillytrib.com