B.A., American University; J.D., Georgetown; LL.M., Georgetown
Katharine Valencia is a Senior Legal Advisor at the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF), a nonprofit organization focused on promoting human rights and the rule of law in Latin America. In this capacity she carries out advocacy, legal research, and technical assistance on transitional justice, judicial independence, human rights defenders, and indigenous peoples’ rights in the region. Professor Valencia’s work also touches upon the field of business and human rights, and her research in this regard focuses on private security as well as the impact of pesticides on human rights. Previously, she was an Associate and the Donald M. Wilson Fellow at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, where she litigated cases before the Inter-American human rights system on racial and ethnic discrimination, the right to nationality, gender-based violence, and freedom of expression. She also co-led RFK Human Rights’ program on Western Sahara.
Additionally, Professor Valencia previously worked at Georgetown Law’s Human Rights Institute. As a postgraduate fellow, she collaborated with HRI’s Director on a fact-finding practicum on the human right to water, as well as with the American Bar Association on an investigation and report regarding human rights defenders in Guatemala. Additionally, she has worked as a consultant for Human Rights Watch and Freedom House, and as a Statelessness Fellow with Refugees International. Prior to law school, she worked at the Embassy of Ireland in Washington, DC on immigration and justice sector issues.
Professor Valencia graduated from Georgetown Law with a joint degree (J.D., and LL.M. in National Security Law with distinction). She holds a dual BA (International Studies and Latin American Studies) from American University, summa cum laude, where she was inducted her junior year into Phi Beta Kappa.