MEET THE TEAM

Brianna Elder joined the Southern Center for Human Rights in October 2024 as an Investigator for the Capital Litigation Unit.

Brianna received her Master of Arts in International and Development Studies with a specialization in Human Rights and Humanitarianism from the Graduate Institute in Geneva, Switzerland in September 2024. She graduated cum laude from Elon University with a BA in International and Global Studies with a regional focus on Africa and minors in African and African American Studies and Italian Studies. Through her coursework, Brianna has sought to understand how the United States has created a system aimed at ensuring minority communities remain systemically disadvantaged.

While at Elon, she was a founding member of the school’s chapter of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). She also interned at the North Carolina African Services Coalition, a refugee resettlement agency, where she implemented an onboarding program for newly resettled refugees.

Prior to working at SCHR, Brianna worked in education as a City Year AmeriCorps member in New Orleans, earning 1,700 service hours for her work at a Title IX school. She remained with City Year for 3 years, managing a team of 8 AmeriCorps members, providing both academic and emotional support for students, and liaising between the school administration and City Year. She is passionate about ensuring Black students have equal access to education regardless of socioeconomic status.

Brianna is committed to fighting systemic injustices wherever they may arise and challenging the injustices perpetrated by the criminal legal system.