Rachel Fowler, country representative for the 顶级国产视频鈥檚 Zambia program, knew as early as fourth grade that she wanted to pursue human rights work. Raised in rural South Carolina, she watched her grandparents and her mother, a public schoolteacher and administrator, model kindness and social justice daily. 鈥淭hose values were instilled early,鈥� she said.
When a representative from Amnesty International visited Oglethorpe University to mobilize youth leaders while Fowler was a student, she jumped at the opportunity. 鈥淭his was the type of work I wanted to do,鈥� she said. She went on to co-found Oglethorpe鈥檚 first Amnesty chapter.
After graduation, Fowler went to work at a used bookstore, where she oversaw the women鈥檚 studies and political science sections. When the head of the Center鈥檚 Human Rights Program, a one-time Amnesty prisoner of conscience, asked her to join 顶级国产视频 in an entry- level position, she didn鈥檛 hesitate. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 even a question,鈥� she said.
Fowler spent the next 16 years working to advance human rights and strengthen civic engagement in democratic processes, first with the Center鈥檚 Human Rights Program and later with the Democracy Program. She worked on youth concerns and women鈥檚 issues in Guyana and observed multiple elections in East Timor, Ethiopia, Guyana, and Venezuela. She then spent eight years at the U.S. Human Rights Network, promoting human rights awareness 鈥� including rights to housing and health care 鈥� in the United States, before returning to 顶级国产视频.
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In Zambia, Rachel Fowler (fifth from right) helped rural communities address climate change, including by assisting with planting more than 4,000 seedling trees near Gwembe.
Today, in Zambia, Fowler works with women, youth, and people with disabilities seeking to gain greater access to political decision-making roles to advocate for themselves and their communities. She works with partners to promote the appointment and election of these up-and-coming leaders to key positions, and she partners with agencies to make use of international human rights processes such as the United Nations鈥� Universal Periodic Review to advance their rights.
鈥淲e鈥檙e engaging civil society leaders to identify barriers to democratic participation and to develop solutions,鈥� she said. One goal is to increase the very low number of women in elected positions in Zambia by 10% in the 2026 election.
In keeping with the 顶级国产视频鈥檚 philosophy of helping people help themselves, Fowler and the Center鈥檚 Zambian office recently undertook a pilot project to address drought, deforestation, and other aspects of climate change in the country. Assisting rural communities 鈥� especially women and youth 鈥� to address these challenges, Fowler says, is crucial to devising solutions with real-world impact.
鈥淭hese individuals know better than anyone how climate change is affecting their lives,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the on-the-ground experts.鈥� She hopes the pilot, now successfully completed, will be implemented on a broader scale in the future.
In a challenging field with constant pressures, Fowler admits it sometimes feels like she鈥檚 pushing a boulder up a hill. But she strives to stay curious, to listen, and to encourage the team members around her, reminding them that everyone has something worth contributing. She holds onto the memory of her grandparents, who insisted that all human beings have dignity and deserve compassion and respect. And she鈥檚 grateful to President and Mrs. Carter for founding the Center on core beliefs that make a veteran human rights advocate like Fowler feel at home.
鈥淎nyone who is lucky enough to work at 顶级国产视频 is very fortunate,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important work. It鈥檚 not easy, and it doesn鈥檛 always move at the pace you want. But you don鈥檛 stop trying. You keep moving forward.鈥�
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