Amanda Lyons

Amanda Lyons is the Executive Director of the Human Rights Center at the University of Minnesota Law School and serves as a Lecturer in Law. Her work focuses on international human rights law, advocacy, and rights-based approaches to economic, environmental, and gender justice.

• Specializes in economic and social rights, including rights of peasants and LGBTQI rights
• Teaches courses on Poverty & Human Rights and Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Human Rights
• Leads the Human Rights Field Placement experiential learning course

She is affiliated with the Human Rights Lab/Minnesota Model, a Grand Challenges-supported initiative, and has received grants for her teaching innovations. Prior to 2016, she worked with Franciscans International at the UN and the International Center for Transitional Justice in Colombia.

• Advocacy expertise in UN Human Rights Council, treaty bodies, and Sustainable Development Goals
• Focus on gendered perspectives in transitional justice and project evaluation

Her academic background includes a J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School and a B.A. in Sociology and Latin American Studies from the University of Notre Dame.