Connector-Convener- Strategic Thinker and Problem Solver with a knack for People-Centered Solutions.
10 years of experience in nonprofit and human rights field.
7 years of experience in litigation, advocacy, negotiations.
Cassandre C. Théano is an Associate Legal Officer for Equality and Inclusion at the Open Society Foundations (The Justice Initiative), focusing on citizenship and equality. In that capacity, she leads the litigation and advocacy work related to the restoration of citizenship rights for Dominicans of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic, Black Mauritanians in Mauritania and various ethnic minorities in Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya. She holds a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, with a concentration on International Human Rights Law and a certificate in Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies. At Georgetown Law, she participated in the International Women’s Human Rights Clinic where she successfully advocated for women’s land and property rights in Kenya. She was also the Senior Articles Editor of the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law. She earned her undergraduate degree in International Relations and French Literature and her Master’s degree in French Society, Politics and Culture from New York University.
Before joining the Open Society Justice Initiative, Cassandre consulted on human rights reports for submission before the United Nations, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and the Human Rights Commission for various non-profit organizations.
Previously, Cassandre was a litigation associate practicing complex commercial and insurance litigation at Anderson Kill & Olick P.C., exclusively on behalf of policyholders. Prior to joining the firm, Cassandre was a Law Clerk to the Honorable Malcolm Graham at the Massachusetts Appeals Court. Cassandre has also worked as a summer associate at two leading corporate law firms, in Paris and in New York.
She is fluent in French, Haitian Creole and Spanish.