Tirana Hassan is an Australian lawyer, social worker, and human rights activist who is the incoming CEO of Doctors without Borders USA and the former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch.

She has led global organizations in the protection of human rights and delivering humanitarian aid operating in some of the worlds most pressing crises. 

Tirana is a qualified social worker and lawyer who has spent the past two decades working with individuals and communities, pursuing their rights and fighting for justice. She was a founding member of a refugee legal service during Australia’s refugee crisis in 2000 before working across the globe in international humanitarian operations, specialising in child protection and civilian protection in complex emergencies. Tirana has worked for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children, amongst others, across East and West Africa and South and South-East Asia. 

Tirana specialises in human rights protection in conflicts and crises. Between 2010-2015, she worked as a senior researcher in Human Rights Watch’s Emergencies Division, carrying out dozens of investigations in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. She later served as director of Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Program, where she led teams of investigators and an interdisciplinary team that advanced innovative research methodologies for human rights investigations and evidence collection. She has authored reports and op-eds for major publications worldwide. 

Tirana graduated with honours degrees in social work and law in Australia and holds a master’s in international human rights law from Oxford University.