Speakers

Margaret Huang

Margaret Huang, an advocate for human rights and racial justice for more than two decades, is the Executive Director of Amnesty International USA.

As the chief executive officer, Ms. Huang is responsible for advancing the vision and mission of the organization, managing the organization’s day-to-day operations and activities, serving as the lead spokesperson for the organization, and ensuring the organization’s financial health. She has worked with Members of Congress on critical pieces of legislation, and she has advocated before the United Nations human rights mechanisms as well as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. She has published articles and opinion pieces on human rights, and she authored a chapter, “Going Global – Appeals to International and Regional Human Rights Bodies,” in Human Rights At Home, published by Praeger Publishers in December 2007. Ms. Huang’s opinion pieces have been published in Time, The Washington Post, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, Rolling Stone, the Miami Herald, and numerous other leading outlets, and she has been interviewed on National Public Radio, CNN, NBC News, Al Jazeera, and other global and domestic media. She regularly speaks on human rights issues to national and international associations, universities, and conferences.

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Ms. Huang previously served as Chief of Staff and as Deputy Executive Director for Campaigns and Programs at Amnesty International USA. Earlier in her career, she served as Executive Director of the Rights Working Group, a coalition of civil liberties and human rights groups formed in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Previously, she served as Director of the U.S. Program at Global Rights, Program Director of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights, and Program Manager at The Asia Foundation. Earlier in her career, she served as Committee Staff for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Ms. Huang received a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University, and a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University.
Lhamo Dolma

Lhamo Dolma is my name and I was born on August 2, 2000. I am 16 years old and a Junior in Millennium High School. I currently live in Oakland, California. I was born and raised in Lhabdrang in Amdho province in Tibet, and moved to India in 2006. I stayed in India until 2014, then I moved to California. I have three siblings, two older brothers and a sister. I live with my mom, Lhamo Tso, and my siblings right now.
My mom has been taking care of us since our dad, Dhondup Wangchen, left to return to Tibet in 2008. My mom had to be a dad and a mom for our family, which was super hard for her, but she never showed or told us how tired she was and how she felt. She never neglected our family, and supported each and every one of our choices and gave us whatever we needed. The only thing she wanted was for us to study hard and help Tibet someday. That was basically our job, to study and be a Tibetan who is proud, knows about Tibet, and has a dream to be part of the Tibetan campaign. I remember how she always use to say, “Your dad and my only hope is for you guys to study hard and be someone who can be independent when you grow up, and also be a Tibet supporter and repay all the things His Holiness [the Dalai Lama] has done for us and you.”
I want to participate in human rights work, because it is not right for other people to take away one's rights. For example, my dad was taken away from me when I was only 7 years old. If you are a mother or a father of a kid and you are taken away from them when they were at such a young age, how would you feel? If you take a minute to think about how this would affect them, you will understand why this issue is so important. ​​​
Lhamo Dolma is a human rights activist who comes from a family of strong activists. Her father, Dhondup Wangchen, is a Tibetan filmmaker and former prisoner of conscience who was detained by the Chinese authorities for his film Leaving Fear Behind. Her mother, Lhamo Tso, and brother, Norbu, both are previous Get on the Bus speakers. We are excited to have Dolma join us to share her story and her call to action for human rights in Tibet and China.
Sonamtso

Sonamtso is the U.S. Grassroots Coordinator for Students for a Free Tibet International (SFT). She has been a lifelong activist, organizer, and leader with the Tibetan freedom movement. Sonamtso has been deeply involved with SFT since 2009, while in high school. Sonamtso revitalized youth activism in California in 2013 when she became a regional coordinator for SFT. In addition to the Tibetan cause, she has been engaged in solidarity work with other San Francisco Bay Area communities such as Amnesty International, Black Lives Matter, and the China and Hong Kong's pro-democracy movements. Along with having a passion for social justice and human rights, Sonamtso enjoys playing soccer and other outdoor activities.
Rabyaah Althaibani 

Rabyaah Althaibani is a Yemeni-American activist. She is an American citizen. Her husband, Basheer Othman, is a Yemeni national and prominent liberal journalist at risk in Yemen trying to move to the U.S. He is currently stuck in Malaysia waiting for a U.S. visa.
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Jonathan Loeb
 
Jonathan Loeb has over a decade of experience researching conflict and supporting conflict-resolution efforts. He has been working as a Senior Crisis Adviser with Amnesty International's crisis response team for the past sixteen months. Prior to joining Amnesty, he has served as the Managing Director of the NGO 24 Hours for Darfur, as an adviser to the African Union-United Nations Joint Mediation Support Team for the Darfur peace process, and as a consultant for the Overseas Development Institute, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, the International Criminal Court, the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and Human Rights Watch.  

He is the author of Amnesty International’s report: Scorched Earth, Poisoned Air: Sudanese Government Forces Ravage Jebel Marra, Darfur, about Sudanese forces’ chemical weapons attacks against civilians, including very young children, between January and September 2016. 
​Silvio Carrillo
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Silvio Carrillo is an award-winning journalist and multimedia creator, documentary filmmaker, photographer and media consultant. Silvio was born and raised in Washington DC. He has worked for Fusion, South China Morning Post, CNN, Al Jazeera, and Reuters in the US and abroad in Latin America, Middle East and Asia. Silvio is the nephew of Berta Cáceres.