Mary Meg McCarthy, Executive Director of the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), an IDC Member organisation based in Chicago, will receive the 2015 Elmer Gertz Award for Human Rights from the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA).
McCarthy is being recognized for transforming the NIJC from a small, non-profit organization primarily focused on providing pro bono representation to asylum seekers to a multi-faceted national center for the advocacy of immigrant rights as human rights. Under her leadership, the organization has grown from a staff of eight to 60, serving 10,000 immigrants each year through an unparalleled network of more than 1,500 pro bono lawyers. Among its programs are a project to provide legal services to children and adult survivors of human trafficking, a gender justice initiative and a project for asylum seekers.