A New York City attorney, Simone Monasebian, has advocated for human and civil rights throughout her 30-plus years in law. After graduating from law school in 1992, Simone Monasebian was hired by the Law Offices of Michael Kennedy, PC, to represent clients on civil rights and criminal matters for seven years.

With this firm, Simone Monasebian won groundbreaking motions in federal and state trial and appellate courts. In 2000, the Office of the Prosecutor for the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda hired her as a trial attorney to prosecute war criminals involved in complex, multi-defendant cases across three continents.

In 2004, she became the Principal Defender for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, leading, managing, and developing the legal aid pillar of a war crimes tribunal overseeing a team of 36 national staff and international consultants who worked on child soldier cases.

A year later, Ms. Monasebian became the Director (and New York Representative) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). With UNODC, she focused on criminal legal system reform and advancing the rights of women and girls. She also elevated the voices of those who survived sexual violence.

Today, Ms. Monasebian is the Chief Program Officer for Sanctuary for Families. This role involves overseeing and managing all programming for the organization that is a leading service provider and advocate for domestic violence, sex trafficking, and gender-based violence survivors.

Simone Monasebian