About Tangata Group

Tangata Group is a human and disability rights-based organization that facilitates collaboration among domestic and international communities in developing local projects that support access to advocacy, education, law reform, and sustainable development to assure the rights of people with disabilities to live self-directed lives with dignity.

Our Values

Tangata Group:

  • Recognizes and respects the cultural, social, political, racial, historical, and economic contexts and rights of local communities around the world;

  • Values the essence of humanity, with empathy for all;

  • Encourages full and equitable participation in all human activities (facets) of life;

  • Holds paramount equitable treatment and local ways of knowing and understanding human beings;

  • Fights for the elimination of all forms of discrimination (e.g., systemic, individual, physical, attitudinal, legal, educational); and

  • Is committed to implementing decolonizing and Indigenous methodologies.

Our Mission

Tangata Group is a human and disability rights-based organization that facilitates collaboration among domestic and international communities in developing local projects that support access to advocacy, education, law reform, and sustainable development to assure the rights of people with disabilities to live self-directed lives with dignity.

Our Vision

Tangata Group envisions a world where people with disabilities have access to live self-directed and dignified lives that are free of oppression, exploitation, and discrimination.

Board Members

  • Dr. Elder is an Associate Professor of Inclusive Education at Rowan University. His research and practice focuses on the development of innovative and sustainable inclusive education practices in under-resourced schools in the United States and low-resourced countries around the world. Most recently, he has worked on deaf Indigenous rights in Australia, and inclusive education initiatives through USAID, UNICEF, and IDP in Ghana, Rwanda, and Malawi. Through the leadership of Inclusive Development Partners (IDP), he was also involved in the MCSIE evaluation of inclusive education programs in Cambodia, Malawi, and Nepal. He and Dr. Valentina Migliarini has a book entitled The future of inclusive education: Intersectional perspectives.

    Read Dr. Elder's CV and publications here.

  • Dr. Michael Schwartz is an esteemed Associate Professor of law at Syracuse University and an advocate for global disability rights. Born profoundly deaf, he earned a BA degree in English from Brandeis University and a MA in Theatre Arts from Northwestern University. He obtained a Juris Doctor degree in 1981 from New York University School of Law and a PhD degree in Education and Disability Studies from Syracuse University in 2006. Throughout his career, Schwartz has advocated for the civil and human rights of people with disabilities. In addition to his research agenda, Schwartz is the co-founder of Tangata Group, an international non-governmental organization focused on legal advocacy supporting the empowerment of people with disabilities around the world, enabling them to live self-directed lives. In 2015, Schwartz was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. Schwartz’ Fulbright research focused on the experiences of Deaf patients in the healthcare setting. Professor Schwartz has published numerous law review and journal articles about disability and deafness.

    Read Dr. Schwartz CV and publications here.

  • Janet E. Lord is an international human rights lawyer who specializes in the rights of persons with disabilities. A senior fellow at the Harvard Law School and an independent disability inclusive development consultant, she brings more than 15 years of practice in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating disability rights and inclusive development programming. She served as legal counsel to Disabled Peoples International and several lead governments throughout the drafting of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Most recently, she served as Team Leader under the Services to Improve Performance Management Enhance Learning and Evaluation (SIMPLE) mechanism for USAID/Egypt, resulting in the first ever assessment on the Accessibility of Students with Disabilities to Egyptian Public Higher Education. An affiliated adjunct professor of law at the American University, Washington College of Law and the University of Maryland Carey School of Law, she has more than 15 years of experience teaching and training on international and comparative disability rights law, international human rights law, health and human rights, humanitarian law and criminal law standards relating to trafficking in persons. She holds an LLM in international and comparative law with highest honors from the George Washington University Law School and an LLB and LLM from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She sits on the Board of Directors for Amnesty International USA.

    To See Janet's CV and a full list publications read: Janet E. Lord's CV

Founding board Member, Judith Heumann

On March 4, 2023, today, tomorrow, and each day forever after, the world will be reeling from the loss of the world-renowned disability rights activist, the Honorable Judith Heumann. The only solace we can find in this tragic hole left in humanity is that Judy’s incredible light for justice will be amplified by those who worked alongside her, and by those who will continue to fight in her honor. Judy was so much more than a pioneer for disability rights. She was a hilariously righteous friend, a fierce critic, and a warm mother to many. It is impossible to sum up the impact that Judy has had on the world. Her work has literally impacted anyone remotely connected to disability in the US and across the globe. From influencing US presidents, to the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and by sparking a disability revolution with Crip Camp, Judy’s memory will live on in all of us that have been lucky enough to share her light. As board members of Tangata Group, we are forever grateful for Judy’s dedication to our mission for disability justice. May Judy’s memory be a blessing for now and always. Our hearts are irrecoverably broken, but we know they will grow back stronger in her honor. Sending love, warmth, and justice into the world now and always.

Brent C. Elder, Janet E. Lord & Michael A. Schwartz 

Locations we have worked in the world

Brent

Afghanistan (remote only)
Australia
Bahrain
Cambodia
Canada
Ghana
Kenya
Lebanon (remote only)
Malawi
Nepal
Northern Ireland
Rwanda
South Africa

Michael

Australia
Denmark
Ethiopia
Iceland
Japan
Northern Ireland
South Korea
Sweden
The Netherlands
Uzbekistan
Vietnam

Janet

Armenia
Belarus
Belgium
Benin
Cambodia
Canada
China
Cote d'Ivoire
Curacao
Ecuador
France
Georgia
Germany
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Kenya
Liberia
Mexico

Myanmar
Namibia
Nepal
Peru
Poland
Qatar
Sierra Leone
South Africa
Switzerland
Taiwan
Trinidad and Tobago
Turkmenistan
UK
Zambia