Senior VP of Policy Rob Berschinski Joins Biden Administration
WASHINGTON — After four years leading Human Rights First’s effort to advance a U.S. foreign policy rooted in a commitment to human rights, Senior Vice President of Policy Rob Berschinski will join the Biden administration on Monday as Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council Senior Director for Democracy and Human Rights.
In his new role, Berschinski will oversee the National Security Council (NSC) office responsible for coordinating U.S. government policy with respect to protecting internationally recognized human rights, defending democratic norms and processes at home and abroad, and fighting corruption.
“In his time at Human Rights First, Rob has been instrumental in our work to hold corrupt actors and human rights abusers accountable,” said President and CEO Mike Breen. “His expertise will be missed here, but our loss is the National Security Council’s gain. We’re certain he will work as tenaciously for human rights at the NSC as he has at Human Rights First.”
In his tenure at Human Rights First, Berschinski led the United States and countries around the globe in developing and successfully utilizing Global Magnitsky and Magnitsky-like sanctions. From demanding justice for Jamal Khashoggi to repeatedly calling on the Trump administration to uphold human rights at home and abroad, Berschinski’s record as a steadfast defender of human rights speaks for itself.
Before joining Human Rights First, Berschinski served in the Obama Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. He also served under Ambassador Samantha Power as Deputy Director of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations’ office in Washington, D.C.; worked as special assistant to then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Ash Carter; and served as Director for Security and Human Rights Policy at the White House National Security Council. From 2008-2010 he served on the staff of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy as a Presidential Management Fellow and worked as a defense fellow on the professional staff of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. He began his career as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force and is an Iraq War veteran.
