Page 27 - Human Rights Program 2025 Annual Report

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FRASER FELLOWSHIPS: A LEGACY OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The Fraser Fellowships honor the human rights legacy of Donald and Arvonne Fraser. Donald
Fraser served in public office for four decades as a State Senator, member of Congress, and
Mayor of Minneapolis. During his time in the United States Congress, he initiated the first
comprehensive study of U.S. foreign policy and international human rights, authoring several
laws requiring the U.S. Government to give greater attention to human rights related issues. His
efforts transformed the State Department’s work on human rights by mandating the creation of
an office on human rights and that the Department write annual reports documenting the human
rights practices of every county. These reports have been an important tool for human rights
students and advocates around the world for decades.
Ambassador Arvonne Fraser was a founder of the
Center on Women and Public Policy at the Humphrey
School of Public Affairs, the nation’s first teaching,
research and outreach center devoted to women and
public policy. Ambassador Fraser also organized and
co-directed the International Women’s Rights Action
Watch, a non-governmental organization working to
implement women’s rights worldwide. Fraser served as
U.S. representative to the U.N. Commission on the
Status of Women with the rank of Ambassador from
1993 to 1994, and she was a member of the U.S.
delegations to the 1993 World Conference on
Human Rights.
Arvonne and Don Fraser
GRIMES FELLOW EXAMINES THE INTERSECTION OF
CLIMATE CHANGE AND MIGRATION
Master of Human Rights student Hank Hellstrom (MHR ’26) didn’t
always know he wanted to study human rights. “I went to school for
mechanical engineering, although I was interested in climate change
at the time,” he explains. Through his coursework as an
undergraduate, he realized that the challenges surrounding climate
change were not simply a question of technology and science, but
primarily a matter of politics. After graduation, Hellstrom decided to
reexamine his career trajectory. The pivot was the start of a journey
from working in emergency shelters, to building capacity for programs
supporting immigrants and refugees, to joining the MHR program.
Hank Hellstrom
In spring 2025, Hellstrom received the Sharon Grimes Human Rights Fellowship, an award that
honors a Master of Human Rights student for their commitment to human rights and the
environment. To Hellstrom, supporting human rights in the context of climate change includes
helping communities to adapt their livelihoods to climate realities, improving infrastructure to
weather natural hazards, advocating for the rights of the displaced, and crafting effective policies
to support climate refugees. It also means pursuing legal remedies to attempt to repair damages
impacting the most vulnerable communities. Last fall, Hellstrom created a poster presentation
and wrote a paper on the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, the international fund
created to address the environmental loss and damage experienced by developing countries at
the hands of historical polluters. “I’m on this path to learn the skills that I need to professionally
advocate for human rights and the environment in the context of climate change,” says
Hellstrom. “The fellowship supports me and makes it easier to conduct advocacy work. I’m very
grateful for that.”