Special Events‎ > ‎

Conference Speakers


Opening Speaker: Mirte Postema | Closing Speaker: John Frank

Project Manager for Rule of Law Initiatives, Seattle International Foundation


Mirte Postema is the project manager for rule of law initiatives, including the Anti-Impunity Fund, at the Seattle International Foundation. Prior to joining the Seattle International Foundation, Mirte worked as a researcher for Human Rights Watch’s LGBT Rights Program, where she researched human rights violations against LGBTQ people in Central America’s Northern Triangle, and for HRW’s America’s Division, where she focused on Guatemala and Mexico.

She has previously worked at Stanford Law School’s Human Rights Center, in California, where she was Fellow for Criminal Justice and Prison Reform in the Americas, and at the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF) in Washington D.C., where she led the Judicial Independence program. Mirte has also contributed political analysis on Guatemala to the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Mirte holds a master’s degree in human rights for the London School of Economic and Political Science, in the UK, a law degree from Maastricht University, The Netherlands, and a certificate in Contemporary Latin American Studies from the Catholic University of Chile.

She has written numerous articles and opinion pieces about rule of law issues in Mexico and Central America. She is a native Dutch speaker, is fluent in English and Spanish, and has some command of Portuguese, German, and French.

More On Mirte Postema:
Vice President for United Nations Affairs, Microsoft


John Frank became the lead and Vice President for Microsoft’s UN Affairs team in March 2020, which focuses on deepening Microsoft’s engagements on the environment, skills training, human rights, and security.

John was previously the Vice President of Microsoft’s EU Affairs team based in Brussels, and Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Chief of Staff for Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington. John joined Microsoft based in Paris, overseeing the legal and regulatory issues in launching the Microsoft Network (MSN) in Europe. From 1996 to 2002, he led Microsoft’s Legal and Corporate Affairs group for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, focusing on privacy, security, consumer protection and
antitrust matters.

Before Microsoft, he practiced law in San Francisco with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.  Mr. Frank received an AB degree from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School and a JD from Columbia Law School. John joined the International Gender Champions in March 2021, is on the United States Council for International Business’s Board of Directors and is also on the Global Advisory Board on Digital Threats for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

More On John Frank: