Maryam Elahi is President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2013 and for more than 25 years, she served in positions of leadership in the international human rights community as an advocate, teacher, and grant-maker.

Maryam was the director of the International Women’s Program at the Open Society Foundations in NYC from 2007 until 2013. She had previously been the founding director of the Human Rights Program at Trinity College in Hartford, establishing the first undergraduate college Human Rights Program in the United States. She taught courses on international human rights law at Trinity College, as well as at the Oxford University Summer International Human Rights Program. She served as the Advocacy Director on the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe for Amnesty International in Washington, DC from 1990 to 1997. Over the years, she has led human rights missions to dozens of countries around the world. Maryam is a graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Boston College Law School, and Williams College. Maryam is a member of the Massachusetts Bar.

Current and recent Board Service:

Connecticut Council on Philanthropy, Frontline Defenders (Dublin-based), Human Rights Center (University of CA at Berkeley), Boston College Law School Holocaust and Human Rights Program, Center for Victims of Torture, International Human Rights Committee of the American Bar Association Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, Center for Justice and Accountability, and ACLU of CT.

Honors:

• Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in May 2021 at Eastern Connecticut State University
• NAACP (Norwich Branch) President’s Award in 2021 for “outstanding leadership, dedication and commitment to the advancement of civil rights”
• Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund for her service to the communities in Eastern Connecticut and the years of service as a human rights advocate
• Boston College David S. Nelson Public Interest Law Award in 2014  recognizing an alum who has made significant contributions to the public sector or in public interest law.
• Global Impact Honoree by the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame in 2015.