Presented By: Donia Human Rights Center
Guerline Jozef | 2026 Wallenberg Medal and Lecture
Guerline Jozef, the co-founder and executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, will receive the 2026 Wallenberg Medal on Tuesday, September 29th at 4:30PM in Rackham Auditorium. In keeping with the tradition of the Wallenberg Lecture, Jozef will draw on her personal experience to share with the audience her understanding of how one person can make a difference.
Guerline M. Jozef, a servant leader rooted in faith, is a globally recognized human rights advocate, thought leader, and strategist who has worked to transform the conversation on migration, race, and justice. Jozef is the executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), a Haitian-American-women-led organization serving immigrants, with a particular focus on Black immigrants at the US-Mexico border and beyond. With the HBA, she has built a movement that centers people of African descent in migration while amplifying the voices of the most marginalized. She is the creator of “Tales from the Borderlands and Beyond,” and co-founder of both the Black Immigrants Bail Fund (BIBF) and the Cameroon Advocacy Network.
Her influence has been recognized nationally and internationally. She was named one of the Washingtonian’s 500 Most Influential People of 2025, one of Politico’s 40 Most Influential People on Race, Politics, and Policy of 2021, and one of the BBC’s Top 100 Women of 2024. She was honored with the Afro-Caribbean Diaspora IMPACT Award from the Caribbean Philanthropic Alliance (CariPhil), the 2021 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, the AFL-CIO’s 2024 GMLK Human Rights Award, the 2024 Haitian Impact Awards, and the 2023 Midwin Charles Legacy Award from the 1804 Haitian Roundtable. She has been recognized by the Women’s Refugee Commission (Voices of Courage Award, 2024), The Haitian Times (Newsmaker of the Year, 2022), the National Haitian-American Elected Officials Network, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Arthur C. Helton Human Rights Award among others.
Ms. Jozef has been featured in Forbes, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, Time Magazine, The Miami Herald, The Haitian Times, Politico, and DemocracyNow. She has testified before the United Nations, the United States Congress, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and recently brought her advocacy to the international stage during the IV International Forum of Parlamentarians in Barranquilla, Colombia. Guerline went to the border for Haitians—but she stayed for everyone seeking safety and protection.
“Guerline Jozef is a powerful advocate for the dignity and rights of migrants who has linked the experience of migration at the US-Mexico border to global human rights movements. She works tirelessly to give voice to the marginalized and to shape a more just future for all,” said Sioban Harlow, chair of the Wallenberg Medal Executive Committee and Professor Emerita of Epidemiology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Global Public Health.
Free and open to the public. Wheelchair and ADA accessible. ASL and CART provided.
Guerline M. Jozef, a servant leader rooted in faith, is a globally recognized human rights advocate, thought leader, and strategist who has worked to transform the conversation on migration, race, and justice. Jozef is the executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), a Haitian-American-women-led organization serving immigrants, with a particular focus on Black immigrants at the US-Mexico border and beyond. With the HBA, she has built a movement that centers people of African descent in migration while amplifying the voices of the most marginalized. She is the creator of “Tales from the Borderlands and Beyond,” and co-founder of both the Black Immigrants Bail Fund (BIBF) and the Cameroon Advocacy Network.
Her influence has been recognized nationally and internationally. She was named one of the Washingtonian’s 500 Most Influential People of 2025, one of Politico’s 40 Most Influential People on Race, Politics, and Policy of 2021, and one of the BBC’s Top 100 Women of 2024. She was honored with the Afro-Caribbean Diaspora IMPACT Award from the Caribbean Philanthropic Alliance (CariPhil), the 2021 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, the AFL-CIO’s 2024 GMLK Human Rights Award, the 2024 Haitian Impact Awards, and the 2023 Midwin Charles Legacy Award from the 1804 Haitian Roundtable. She has been recognized by the Women’s Refugee Commission (Voices of Courage Award, 2024), The Haitian Times (Newsmaker of the Year, 2022), the National Haitian-American Elected Officials Network, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Arthur C. Helton Human Rights Award among others.
Ms. Jozef has been featured in Forbes, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, Time Magazine, The Miami Herald, The Haitian Times, Politico, and DemocracyNow. She has testified before the United Nations, the United States Congress, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and recently brought her advocacy to the international stage during the IV International Forum of Parlamentarians in Barranquilla, Colombia. Guerline went to the border for Haitians—but she stayed for everyone seeking safety and protection.
“Guerline Jozef is a powerful advocate for the dignity and rights of migrants who has linked the experience of migration at the US-Mexico border to global human rights movements. She works tirelessly to give voice to the marginalized and to shape a more just future for all,” said Sioban Harlow, chair of the Wallenberg Medal Executive Committee and Professor Emerita of Epidemiology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Global Public Health.
Free and open to the public. Wheelchair and ADA accessible. ASL and CART provided.
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