Meet People Like You

Bob Kissane

For Him, Caring Is Just As Important As Consulting

Bob Kissane is not only president of CSS, a leader in strategic consulting for nonprofits around the world, but also a major supporter of Human Rights Watch and a member of the board. He’s an acknowledged fundraising expert who could choose to support any of the hundreds of organizations he works with, and he chooses Human Rights Watch.

Bob gives his generous support every year for Human Rights Watch. And recently, he made the decision to do even more. That’s when he created his legacy gift by naming Human Rights Watch as the beneficiary of a $1 million life insurance policy. “It’s the type of planned giving approach that almost anyone can make,” Bob said. “By making a relatively modest investment in terms of current dollars, it gives me the satisfaction of knowing that I will be providing long-term financial support for critical Human Rights Watch programs well into the future.”

This generous legacy gift is in addition to Bob’s regular support for Human Rights Watch. His reason? The pressing need to safeguard the humanity of all people around the world. “Human Rights Watch provides a vital role as one of the leading independent organizations defending and protecting human rights,” he said. “In his century, I see more, not less, need for what Human Rights Watch does – giving voice to the oppressed and holding the oppressors accountable for their crimes. It pleases me greatly to know that this gift will help Human Rights Watch stay on the front lines in the fight for human rights.”

Now More Than Ever

Steve Preskill and Karen DeMoss share a passion for education. They have dedicated their careers to the field.

Steve, a long-time educator, is currently a teaching fellow in a writing program, leading one of the human rights sections. His partner, Karen, is spearheading a national effort to transform the way the United States properly funds and trains our future teachers.

“Civil rights and equality have always influenced my teaching career,” Steve said. “School was an anchor in my life,” Karen shared. “I remember watching the Rodney King riots on television and I knew firsthand that educational inequality exists. I was inspired to do something about it.”

Together they share another passion: the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, which they have attended for the past six years. “It is the single most important event we go to—it has been transformative. The films teach us, inspire us and challenge us,” Karen said. “We look forward to the festival every year and always get so much out of it,” Steve added. “These films have affected how we think about our work related to the world’s human rights.”

Through the festival, Steve and Karen became more familiar with the influential work of Human Rights Watch around the world and have supported HRW with monthly gifts. When they learned of HRW’s Legacy Challenge, they were inspired and motivated to include a gift in their wills to Human Rights Watch. “The Legacy Challenge (made possible by Board member Shelley Frost Rubin) allowed us to increase our commitment. We are honored and humbled to be a part of it,” Karen said.

As they anticipate the festival this year, Karen and Steve reflect on the profound influence past Festivals have had on them.

“Those 10 days in 2010 changed my life. I have always valued social justice. The festival solidified to me that human rights are everything,” Karen said. “We feel deeply that there is an importance to supporting the work of Human Rights Watch,” Steve continued, “now more than ever.”

A Passion For Bringing People Together

Born in Berlin, Irene Nevil came to the U.S. at 10, settling with her family in the Los Angeles area. After graduating from college, she went on to a successful career in international trade. She traveled extensively, spoke five languages, and often hosted foreign visitors in her home. “Instead of bringing back souvenirs from her travels,” Irene’s son said, “mom collected friends from all over the world. She sent them birthday cards and holiday cards every year.”

Dedicated to helping others, Irene contributed to many causes, and she served as a board member and chairperson of Learning Ally (formerly Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic). But her compassion for others didn’t stop there. Irene also made the vital decision to write Human Rights Watch into her will. By giving this special legacy gift, she has made protecting the vulnerable and upholding human dignity the heart of her life story, and it will remain that way forever.

How an Academic Turned Activist

Fresh out of grad school, Dr. Sam McFarland began teaching social psychology, launching a seminar on understanding human rights. He focused on the history and morality of human rights defense, highlighting the work of genocide scholar Rudolph Rummel. As a Fulbright Senior Scholar in the Soviet Union, Dr. McFarland was about to give a lecture in 1989 in the Soviet republic of Georgia when tanks killed pro-independence demonstrators in the capital city of Tbilisi.

As a witness to the events surrounding the massacre, Dr. McFarland began making phone calls until he made contact with a Washington Post journalist in Moscow, helping to bring the world’s attention to that tragedy. “That day made it clear to me that a watching world is the strongest protection against human rights violations,” Dr. McFarland said.

Soon after, he took action and became a committed supporter of Human Rights Watch, continuing to give regularly. A few years later, he decided he wanted to take even stronger action, so Dr. McFarland and his wife, Cheryl, made their first major gift to Human Rights Watch to help us push for the creation of the International Criminal Court. “I truly believe,” he said, “that the best gift we can give to our grandson is a peaceful world where all people enjoy human rights and have the opportunity to live full and rewarding lives.”

A Lesson in Human Rights at the Local Level

Pat Davis remembers the incident like it was yesterday. At just 14, she was working part-time at the candy counter of the local dime store, when the full-time employees went on strike for six weeks to try to unionize. Pat walked the picket line after school. The effort to unionize failed. And afterward, Pat recalls, “I was warned not to talk with anyone about the strike or I would lose my job. I never forgot that threat.” That early experience led to Pat’s interest in defending human rights. In college, for instance, she volunteered with the ACLU. “I saw what’s involved in the fight for human rights,” she said, “and the effects on those whose rights are violated.” And later, Pat and her husband, Gil, began giving regularly to Human Rights Watch.

“I like the political approach that Human Rights Watch takes to effecting change,” Pat said. “The organization has a growing presence in the U.S. and around the world.” Then the couple decided to deepen their support. So they set up a legacy gift with a charitable gift annuity, a gift that pays them a steady income. “The regular payments augment our income,” Pat said, “so it’s a win-win partnership.” But it’s not just the benefit they receive – it’s the benefit to humanity. “We believe in the work Human Rights Watch is doing and are proud to support them,” Pat said. “Human Rights Watch is influencing real change.”

Taking a Stand for Human Rights

McCormick grew up in a quiet town in East Central Illinois. Going to Earlham College, a Quaker school, in Richmond, Indiana, helped broaden his view of the world. “Being in a liberal arts environment taught me to ask questions and think more deeply and critically when examining world events,” he said. McCormick has two master’s degrees—one in social work and the other in public health. He spent a good part of his career as a contractor doing data management for the Centers for Disease Control, primarily in HIV/AIDS prevention. “My education helped sensitize me to issues of social justice,” McCormick said.

Human rights issues—especially those involving children—have always resonated with him, perhaps because McCormick tragically lost his brother when he was a teenager. His passionate concern for the rights of children was further heightened when he and his partner, Linda, took in two African-American foster children for 16 months, beginning in late 2000. As they have grown, he and Linda have witnessed the negative way in which people treat them.

Recently, McCormick has experienced some serious chronic health issues and he’s been forced to make some changes in his life and his career. “I no longer feel invincible,” he shared.

One change McCormick made was selling a condominium he had owned for a number of years. With some of the proceeds, he funded a Human Rights Watch gift annuity, which will provide him payments for life. When he was contemplating the idea, McCormick sought the advice of Linda, who teaches writing and literature at Oglethorpe University. They have been together for 18 years. “She told me, ‘Take your stand,’” he said.

While getting weekly dialysis, McCormick often reads the essays in the 2015 Human Rights Watch World Report. “Kenneth Roth wrote, ‘Human rights are not just arbitrary restraints on governments. They reflect fundamental values, widely shared and deeply held, imposing limits on the power of governments and essential safeguards for human dignity and autonomy.’ “With my support, I feel like I am doing my part. This is my way of taking a stand.”

Inspired To Do More

In Human Rights Watch, she’s found an organization that is a dynamic catalyst for change and has taken the step to support it long after she’s gone.

“Giving was part of my consciousness. My mother was a volunteer social worker,” said Colleen. “I was raised Southern Baptist where tithing was ingrained. Early in my career, when 10 percent of my disposable income meant somewhere in the range of $5 per year, I hoped one day I would be able to make a difference. I’m happy to have finally reached that point.”

Colleen spent 16 years working in corporate communications for Time, Inc., concentrating her time at the cable and satellite network HBO (“Mike Tyson paid my rent!”) and Book of the Month Club. After relocating from London to Chicago, Colleen had lunch with Chicago Committee founders. She soon after joined the committee and deepened her commitment.

“Human Rights Watch taught me what global citizenship is about and nudged me to become engaged in a new way…” “I had followed the work of Human Rights Watch since the mid-80s, in the pages of Publishers Weekly. Meeting the researchers on Burma, Syria and the Central African Republic confirmed the awe and respect I had for the organization and its nimble and effective deployment of a small staff,” Colleen recalled. “Shortly after Human Rights Watch proved Bashar al-Assad was using chemical weapons in Syria, I shared a moment with one of our Syria researchers and heard some of the most inspiring on-the-ground stories I had ever heard – possibly the coolest moment of my life.”

“Over the years, I’ve made financial contributions and have done outreach,” she said. “I can read five articles a year on Rwanda in The New York Times, but Human Rights Watch is where I will find the backstories and scope of the country’s problems. And it’s the go-to source for news organizations whose staffs have been decimated. I came to realize I had to do more.”

Colleen has found her means to make a larger impact by naming Human Rights Watch a beneficiary of her 401(k). She told us:

“It’s easy to do and a painless way to give. I am comforted knowing that when I’m no longer around, my legacy gift will support Human Rights Watch’s work of documenting and exposing injustice worldwide.”

A Far-Reaching Legacy

Throughout her life, Wendy Klodt traveled far, bringing her into contact with great beauty, and many people. Encountering suffering and injustice along the way, her travels also brought her closer to herself, her values, and what she cared about most. These experiences influenced her to make Human Rights Watch a part of her legacy.

Wendy’s life had always been rich in experience. After a brief career in musical theater, her artistic nature led her into the fashion industry where she established a group of women’s boutiques. For most of the 1970s, Wendy spent time in Afghanistan, manufacturing dresses to sell back in New York’s East Village, and eventually Bloomingdale’s department store.

“Wendy had a sense of style and a talent for making women feel good about themselves,” David Meikle, her partner of 20 years, said. “She held herself—and others—to high standards.”

David and Wendy, both intellectually and artistically driven and drawn to the open road, met via friends. Although the demands of running a business limited Wendy’s travel, David convinced her to dust off her passport. Together they ventured to Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Spain, Portugal, Japan, and England. “Our trips were an important part of our life together,” he said.

In 2014, after enduring a prolonged illness and facing an unfavorable diagnosis, Wendy was determined to get her plans in order and include the causes that were meaningful to her. She left a generous bequest to Human Rights Watch and made gifts to more than two dozen other charities. Wendy lost her battle with cancer in 2015.

“Wendy had seen the effects of poverty, abuse, discrimination and lack of educational opportunities for women and children around the world,” David said. “Human Rights Watch is a well-respected organization whose work generates positive change. It was important to Wendy to support organizations that were making an impact and whose mission resonated with her.”

We are honored to be included in Wendy Klodt’s generous legacy.