Tiernan Mennen Named Director of Northeastern Law’s Center for Global Law and Justice

6.26.26 — Tiernan Mennen, an international attorney with more than 20 years of global experience working on international human rights, justice and peacebuilding has joined Northeastern Law as director of the Center for Global Law and Justice (CGLJ). Mennen is an expert on land rights, legal pluralism, access to justice, anti-corruption and democratic governance. Mennen most recently served as chief of party for a USAID anti-corruption, human rights and citizen participation program in El Salvador. He also directed a global portfolio of programs supporting democracy, human rights and rule of law reform across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

“Tiernen brings an extraordinary level of expertise and global experience to our community – just what is needed at a time when international law, the rule of law, and even human rights itself is under attack,” said CGLJ faculty co-directors Martha Davis and Zinaida Miller in a joint statement. “We look forward to working with him to shepherd the CGLJ’s continued growth and expand its positive impact both within the law school and in the wider world.”

Mennen’s current research and advocacy focus on the integration of human rights in international development frameworks, including specific analysis on customary and indigenous law, community land and resource rights, people-centered justice reform, decentralization and democratic backsliding.

Mennen has experience in more than 40 countries around the world, including extended periods supporting human rights, governance and justice reform in Bolivia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Myanmar, Nepal, Peru, the Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Sri Lanka and Ukraine. He has organized and supported civil society-led human rights advocacy campaigns; provided technical assistance to courts, legal aid providers and ministries of justice; and worked as a senior advisor to a variety of international institutions and donors, including the United Nations, the World Bank, Open Society Foundations, U.S. State Department and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Mennen received his JD from Cornell Law School and a master’s in international economics and development from the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

“I am excited to be joining Northeastern Law to continue and grow the critical work of the Center for Global Law and Justice, at a time when peace, democracy and human rights are more fragile than ever,” said Mennen. “I am delighted to be working with my faculty co-directors Zinaida Miller and Martha Davis and the wonderful students and staff at the center.”