Human Rights Defense Center Staff
Executive Director: Paul Wright
Paul Wright is the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center. He is also editor of Prison Legal News (PLN), the longest-running independent prisoner rights publication in U.S. history. He has co-authored three PLN anthologies: The Celling of America: An Inside Look at the U.S. Prison Industry (Common Courage, 1998); Prison Nation: The Warehousing of America's Poor (Routledge, 2003); and Prison Profiteers: Who Makes Money from Mass Imprisonment (New Press, 2008). His articles have appeared in over 80 publications, ranging from Counterpunch to USA Today. A former prisoner, Paul was imprisoned for 17 years in Washington state until his release in 2003. During and since his incarceration, he has successfully litigated a wide variety of censorship and public records cases against prison systems around the country, both as a pro se plaintiff and on behalf of PLN. Paul is a former military policeman, a graduate of the University of Maryland with a degree in Soviet history, and the former National Lawyers Guild Jailhouse Lawyer co-vice president (1995-2008). He is a 2005 Petra Fellow; the Freedom Fighter of the Month for High Times magazine in July 2006; a 2007 recipient of the James Madison Award from the Washington Coalition for Open Government; the 2008 inaugural recipient of the National Lawyers Guild's Arthur Kinoy award; a 2011 recipient of the Distinguished Public Interest Service Award from the City of New York Law School; the 2017 recipient of the Julio Medina Freedom Award from Citizens Against Recidivism; and a 2017 recipient of a New York City Council Citation. In 2018 he received the Frederick Douglas award from the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives and the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University in Washington DC. He serves as the National Vice President of the National Police Accountability Project.
PLN Managing Editor: Charles Sharman
CLN Managing Editor: Richard Resch
Richard Resch is the managing editor of Criminal Legal News. Prior to joining the Human Rights Defense Center, he spent nearly a decade researching and writing about legal issues involving individual rights and liberties, free speech, and government accountability. Earlier in his professional career, he held various positions in higher education publishing with Thomson Learning and Pearson Education. Richard has a diverse legal background as well. He worked at Ruden, McClosky, Smith, Schuster & Russell, P.A. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida as an international corporate tax attorney. Additionally, he has experience with immigration law while working at an immigration law firm located in New York City's Chinatown. He also spent time in New York City Family Court, where he worked on child-protective proceedings involving abused or neglected children. He earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from New York Law School, his LL. M. (taxation) from New York University School of Law, and his B.A. from Florida Atlantic University. He served as notes and comments editor on the New York Law School Law Review.
Senior Litigation Paralegal: Kathy Moses
Kathy Moses joined the Human Rights Defense Center as a paralegal in June 2016. Kathy is a graduate of the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida and holds a B.S. degree in journalism. She also earned an A.S. in paralegal studies and an A.A. from Palm Beach State College. She has worked as an office manager, legal secretary, and copy editor. Kathy has been instrumental in managing HRDC's federal cases around the country and lending assistance to attorneys from pre-suit investigation and discovery through summary judgment and trial. Originally from the Boston area, Kathy has called South Florida home for over 30 years.
Records Manager: Tiffany Hollis
Tiffany Hollis joined the Human Rights Defense Center as Public Records Manager in February 2022. She is a graduate of Barry University holding a B.A. degree in Public Administration. She has also earned an A.S. Degree in Paralegal Studies. She previously worked as an Lead Clerk for the Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller’s Office Criminal Division for over 10 plus years.