What: Cocktail reception marking the opening of Human Rights First Houston office.
Where: In the new offices at South Texas College of Law.
The 411: More than 120 business and media professionals, politicians and academics came out to celebrate the official opening of Human Rights First's Houston office. The independent advocacy and action organization pairs volunteer attorneys with refugees seeking asylum and aids them in navigating the complicated immigration court system. The opening of the new Houston location marks the organization's first expansion in more than 20 years. It also has offices in Washington D.C. and New York City.
Texas native Elisa Massimino, president and CEO of Human Rights First, welcomed the crowd, along with South Texas College of Law Dean Donald Guter and Human Rights First board member David Matthews. The Human Rights First Houston office has been up and running for about a month and the organization has trained more than 90 volunteer lawyers.
Who: Rice University president David Leebron and Y. Ping Sun, State Rep. Gene Wu, Ashley Kaper, E. William Barnett, Monty and Marla Briscoe, Christine LaFollette, Nancy MacKimm, Houston Rights First Board of Advoates members Allen Matusow, Peggy Matthews, Alan Crain, and Gordon Quan, Patrica Guter, Sylvia Quan, Hawa Hassan, Omar Osman, Yani Keo, Benito Juarez, Azeb Yusef, Mary Hedahl and Rudeina Baasiri.
Elisa Massimino, from left, and David Matthews.
