Tina Ramirez ’99, MA ’01 has become one of the most effective behind-the-scenes advocates for religious freedom in Washington, D.C. Ramirez is the only Congressional Fellow on International Religious Freedom, and her efforts have prompted the U.S. to take a more muscular approach to safeguarding religious freedoms for people of all faiths internationally.
“She is gifted beyond my ability to articulate,” says Congressman Trent Franks (Ariz.), whom Ramirez advises on foreign policy issues. “She does a fantastic job for us because she understands that religious freedom is the cornerstone of all other freedoms.”
In addition to meeting with ambassadors and members of persecuted groups, Ramirez travels widely to monitor human rights issues on the ground in places like Sudan, Egypt and Algeria. But her signature accomplishment has been to craft language, passed into law last year, which set aside $4 million for groups which promote religious freedom throughout the world. She feels that her Vanguard education prepared her for her role of influence.
“I loved Vanguard so much,” Ramirez says. “I loved my time in Israel with Nancy Heidebrecht and studying Christian ethics and human rights under Sheri Benvenuti. I loved how my professors had been missionaries or had history in the countries we were learning about. I liked studying Pentecostalism with Lewis Wilson. Dennis McNutt taught me critical thinking in a way that I hadn’t honed before, by looking at big-picture issues in a country or region. I loved Jerry Camery-Hoggatt for his storytelling. I loved everything about the school.”
After graduating with her bachelor’s degree, Tina attended the International Institute for Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, in a joint program with Trinity Law School. There she realized that religious freedom and human dignity could be promoted using the levers of human rights law. “The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights says everyone has the right to religious freedom, including the right to practice and teach their beliefs in public and private, and to choose or change your religion,” she says. “Religious freedom is not just for Christians, it’s for everybody. It is something that cannot be taken away by governments. It’s universal, inherent and foundational to human life to have the freedom to seek and serve the creator.” In 2007 Ramirez became a Congressional Fellow, which she sees as “a fulfillment of the calling God put on my life.”
“I can’t imagine a better position than being able to travel and to meet the persecuted church and to help them and others by changing policy,” she says.
Ramirez spoke at the United Nations in Geneva last year. She runs the congressional Task Force on International Religious Freedom that Rep. Franks founded. The Task Force works to ensure that the right to freedom of religion for people of all faiths around the world is a priority in U.S. foreign policy. She coordinates congressional trips to different countries to observe religious freedom conditions. She also drafts many letters to foreign leaders on behalf of members of Congress, trying to get religious dissidents released from prison or laws that discriminate against religious freedom rights changed.
In December she fulfilled a dream of spending time in Sudan, a country she had first studied in Dennis McNutt’s African history class. “My purpose was to see how the Comprehensive Peace Agreement has been implemented and find what areas we can help,” she says. “I met with government officials in the south, then traveled with Samaritan’s Purse, one of the only organizations that worked there during the civil war. I’ve never seen a country so desolate. It was like going to the moon. They have no infrastructure whatsoever. I stayed in a tent or a small hut the whole time. Most of the trips I go on are not luxurious.”
As a result of her findings, Rep. Franks called on the U.S. to beef up its assistance to Sudan and has made a number of specific recommendations to fortify the peace agreement. “We are just grateful beyond words to have her in our office,” says Franks. “The work she does every day makes it worth it to continue to deal with some of these challenges.”
Back at home Ramirez has been instrumental in networking Christians in Washington who work on religious freedom issues. Ramirez sees herself fighting for religious freedom and human dignity for the rest of her career.
“I know I’m doing what God called me to do,” she says. “I love standing up for people and their value as human beings.”