Center on Global Rights of Women

Cheryl Thomas is the Senior Attorney Advisor for the Center on Global Rights for Women at BWJP, which was established following the strategic merger of Global Rights for Women and the Battered Women’s Justice Project. As the founding Director of Global Rights for Women, Cheryl has dedicated over thirty years to global legal reform and systemic change to end gender-based violence. Her international impact includes working with global partners to draft laws that prohibit violence against women and girls and co-leading the United Nations Expert Group Meeting to create the UN Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women. Her leadership has been recognized by Newsweek ("150 Women Who Shake the World") and the National Association of Women Lawyers (Arabella Babb Mansfield Award). She previously served as a Special Assistant Attorney General for Minnesota, Director of the Women's Rights Program at The Advocates for Human Rights, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota Law School.