Ms. Bishop will provide a broad global backdrop of current LGBTI movements, briefly talk about basic human rights principles and global mechanisms; provide an analysis how discrimination and exclusion, in particular, affect health/well-being, using country examples; and then focus in on trends— challenges and progress in the region.
Ms. Bishop is a human rights advocate and global health leader with professional experience in more than 20 countries around the world. She currently works as an independent global health and human rights consultant focusing women’s health; health access for marginalized populations, especially LGBTQI populations; and the intersection of human rights and public health. Until August 2014, she worked for PATH, a Seattle-based, non-profit international health organization, where she was employed for more than 25 years in a variety of leadership and technical capacities. She most recently served as a Senior Program Adviser within the organization's Reproductive Health program. Prior to this position, Bishop oversaw a number of PATH's country programs, providing technical, program development, management and strategic planning support in a variety of health areas, including breast and cervical cancer, tuberculosis, and HIV, with a focus on key populations. From 2000 to 2005, she served as PATH’s Ukraine Country Program Director during which time she worked closely with a variety of national and international HIV and TB advocacy and service organizations.
Since 2008, she has served on the Board of Directors for OutRight Action International (formerly the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission), and for the last two years, she has served as Board Co-Chair. In this capacity, she has worked with a number of human rights groups in various countries to advance equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. In addition, she and her family were actively involved in the marriage equality movement in Washington State and testified before the Washington State House Judiciary Committee in 2009. Ms. Bishop is also an annual guest lecturer at the University of Washington’s School of Public Health on LGBTQI movements, human rights, and health; is an invited member of the Civic Council for the UW Jackson School of International Studies’ new Master’s Degree in Applied International Studies at the University of Washington, representing perspectives on human rights for LGBTQI people; and serves on the International Advisory Group for Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and Hawaiian Islands. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Health and a Master’s of Science Degree in Social Work, both from Columbia University. She was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco in the early 1980s, founding a school for children with disabilities in Marrakech. She and her wife have two sons and live in Seattle, WA, USA.
Don't forget your passport or driver's license.