JANE OLSONJane Olson is an author, and she will address Rotarians about her book titled World Citizen: Journeys of a Humanitarian. These stories are about light and hope in the midst of unimaginable human suffering in war zones and places of extreme poverty around the world. Important lessons from a childhood in rural western Iowa are woven throughout, as are examples of human strength and resiliency. Each chapter can be read as a complete experience.
Intimate details recorded by the author in journals and on film take the reader on memorable journeys with international human rights and humanitarian organizations. Despite being plunged into war zones, crowded refugee camps, and some of the poorest and most disease-affected places on the planet, we learn the life-saving impact of humanitarian intervention, the healing power of community, the importance of justice, and the truth that one caring person can indeed make a difference.
Jane Olson has dedicated her career to promoting international peace, justice and humanitarian work. She chaired the International Board of Trustees of Human Rights Watch, the largest US-based international human rights organization, from 2004 to 2010, having worked on behalf of HRW since 1988. She also chaired the board of Survivor Corps for 12 years since its founding as the Landmine Survivors Network. LSN and HRW were among the five organizations to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for the International Landmine Ban Treaty.
Olson is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Science and a board member of both the National World War II Museum in New Orleans and Direct Relief, based in Santa Barbara, CA. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Pacific Council on International Policy. She served as co-chair of the Women’s Refugee Commission in New York and continues to support the WRC as a commissioner.
