Channel Foundation in collaboration with the World Affairs Council co-organized a lunch with Brian Concannon, the Founder and Executive Director of Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) held on February 26, 2024 at the World Affairs Council.

The event was part of the World Affairs Council Fellowship Program, which “offers a unique professional development opportunity to a small group of greater Seattle’s business and community leaders” including meetings with “carefully selected high-caliber international experts who offer unparalleled insight into current global issues.” It is open only to the 2023-2024 Fellows.

Brian Concannon, a human rights lawyer who graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, was invited as a guest speaker for the event. Concannon’s expertise is in human rights in Haiti and US policy, having spent almost a decade living in working in Haiti from 1995 to 2004 at both the united Nations and the  Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) in Port-au-Prince. He founded IJDH in 2004, after returning to the United States following a coup d’etat in Haiti. Concannon hopes to address the current state of Haiti and its continued challenges with political upheaval and human rights.