 Stephen Knight Pursues a New Path, Leaving an Impressive Legacy
In June, after nearly eight years with CGRS, Deputy Director Stephen Knight transitioned from his work on gender asylum to environmental advocacy with Save the Bay, the oldest and largest membership organization working exclusively to protect and restore San Francisco Bay, where he now serves as Political Director. Stephen had been with CGRS since it was founded in 1999.
Throughout his tenure at the Center, Stephen contributed to the positive development of refugee and asylum law in the U.S., while simultaneously helping to shape the vision and direction of CGRS. As CGRS’s founding attorney, Stephen wore many hats and leveraged his talents and skills to help CGRS grow to become what it is today—the leading national organization focused on assisting refugee women fleeing gender persecution.
Stephen is a graduate of Yale University and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he studied refugee and international human rights law. After graduating from U.C. Hastings, he clerked for Justice Robert G. Klein of the Supreme Court of Hawai’i, and later served as a Research Fellow for a national study on expedited removal, an immigration procedure allowing the summary return of persons attempting to enter the United States.
For many pro bono attorneys and nonprofit advocates across the country, Stephen was the first point of contact for technical assistance, legal advice, and other support on gender-based asylum claims. Stephen was also the driving force behind the development and steady growth of CGRS’s heavily-trafficked website and off-line database. CGRS’s website currently receives an average of approximately 7,000 visits per month from a wide range of users, including legal advocates, researchers, journalists, students, activists and others.
Stephen produced a substantial amount of cutting-edge legal work, including co-writing amicus (friend of the court) briefs on significant cases involving issues such as rape by prison guards, trafficking for sexual slavery, and protecting children from female genital cutting. Recognized as a national expert on asylum law, Stephen frequently served as a source for journalists covering refugee and women’s human rights issues. While at CGRS, Stephen authored numerous reports and articles, including – most recently – “Asylum from Trafficking: A failure of protection.” Published in the July 2007 edition of Immigration Briefings, this article provides an overview and discussion of mostly unpublished decisions in asylum cases which raise troubling questions about the availability of U.S. protection to women who have been trafficked.
Stephen also made significant contributions to CGRS’s robust policy advocacy efforts, working with colleagues to develop and implement long-term campaigns resulting in landmark victories in asylum cases involving women raped in war and those forced into marriage and sexually assaulted by their spouses. He spoke frequently at national conferences and symposia, such as the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Annual Conference on Immigration Law, and he conducted local trainings on gender asylum for pro bono attorneys in partnership with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of San Francisco. Over the years he reached thousands of advocates through these types of forums, sharing a wealth of knowledge and expertise that ultimately served to benefit vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers in need of protection.
As Deputy Director, Stephen provided supervision and mentoring for staff, law clerks, interns, and volunteers, among many other responsibilities. He also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law for the Refugee & Human Rights Clinic and Immigration Clinic at U.C. Hastings; he helped prepare course syllabi, engaged in class planning and discussion, and supervised students. Over the years, Stephen provided additional mentoring and leadership development opportunities for dozens of students and law clerks, many of whom have gone on to pursue careers in the public interest.
“Stephen will be greatly missed at CGRS,” says Director Karen Musalo, “but the contributions that he has made—both to the organization itself and to the lives of countless refugee women and girls in need of protection—will be a lasting one.” |
