About

About

We work to improve the world by promoting human and child rights through education, humanitarian assistance and health promotion and by preserving the environment.

Humanitarian and community assistance programs serve better when they are locally organized and managed and the Foundation partners with community organizations and persons in order that they may respond to local and global issues.

The Foundation provides training and resources to promising persons and organizations to be leaders in their communities.  We try to build capacity rather than provide material aid.

For details about what we mean by “rights based approach” click here.

For details about our current projects, click on our Programs.

The Directors of the Rights and Opportunities Foundation

Neil Joyce MD is an emergency physician and public health specialist with an 18 year history as a humanitarian aid worker for emergencies in Bosnia, Guatemala, Albania, Indonesia, Angola, Mexico, Eritrea, East Timor (now Timor Leste), Liberia, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Haiti, Japan and within the United States.  He is a first-responder during sudden onset emergencies due to both conflicts and natural disasters. During humanitarian crises Dr. Joyce has performed on-site rapid area assessments and served as medical director and team leader for the International Medical Corps and Medical Emergency Relief International. In addition to developing and managing emergency relief programs, he has extensive experience in inter-agency coordination of humanitarian assistance. As well, Dr. Joyce has participated in the development of training protocols for other aid workers with the World Health Organization, the United States Center of Excellence for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance and with the US Marine Corps in their training for disaster response.

Kristin Brown Ed.D. has more than four decades experience in addressing issues of educational equity and promoting multicultural and diversity-responsive education. She is the co-founder and co-director of the global learning network “From Shore to Shore” or “De Orilla a Orilla” (in Spanish). Orillas has been widely recognized by educational researchers as an exemplary project for immigrant and minority language students in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and other Caribbean and Latin American countries.  She has many professional and academic publications including Literacy, Technology and Diversity (co-authored with Jim Cummins and published in 2007 by Allyn and Bacon).  Dr. Brown served as senior professional development specialist at the Center for Language Minority Education and Research.  She has taught graduate education students at the university level and continues to work with future teachers in the United States and Latin America.  She is also active in helping develop both teacher training and classroom programs with Departments of Education and policy makers in several countries in the Americas.

Please note that the Directors receive no salary or compensation from the Rights and Opportunities Foundation.