Tara J. Melish

Tara J. Melish is a Professor and Director of the Buffalo Human Rights Center at the University at Buffalo School of Law. She specializes in Public International Law, International Human Rights Law, and Comparative Constitutional Law, with a focus on socio-economic rights and transitional justice. Her work bridges legal scholarship with advocacy, including litigation before UN and Inter-American human rights bodies.

Education: Graduated magna cum laude from Brown University (1996) and Yale Law School (2000). Served as editor-in-chief of the Yale Human Rights and Development Law Journal and book reviews editor for the Yale Journal of International Law. Postgraduate roles include a judicial clerkship with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Professional Experience: Associate Social Affairs Officer at the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, U.N. Representative for Disability Rights International, Staff Attorney at CEJIL, and legal adviser to multiple human rights organizations. Trained professionals globally on socio-economic rights and human rights enforcement strategies.

Teaching: Visiting Professor at Notre Dame, Oxford, George Washington, and other law schools. Faculty member of the Global School on Socio-Economic Rights.

Awards: Recognized through fellowships from the MacArthur Foundation, Fulbright Foundation, and Yale Law School. Her research emphasizes participatory approaches to human rights governance and disability rights.