08/21/2026
Ask Guerline Jozef how she got into the work of fighting for immigrants and she will tell you that she did not plan it.
Like so many of us, she saw an injustice and could not sleep at night knowing there was something she could do about it. We all know those moments when something happening in the world affects you so deeply that you feel you have to respond. Some people volunteer. Some give money. Some join an organization. Some decide to speak up.
Guerline decided to act.
Her heart led her to help Haitian migrants through the Haitian Bridge Alliance, and that work has grown into something much larger: standing with immigrants and families from many different communities who are experiencing injustice while searching for safety, dignity and a better life in the United States.
That same spirit has guided the Quixote Center for 50 years.
For five decades, the Quixote Center has stepped into places where there was a need, often filling gaps that others overlooked, while helping communities build the resources and power to sustain themselves.
That has meant investing in fish production in Gros Morne, Haiti to strengthen food security, create jobs and support the local economy. It has meant supporting meal programs in Paso Canoas, Panama and a migrant shelter in David, Panama. It has meant advocating for legislation like the Criminal Collusion Transparency Act to hold those accountable who are contributing to the insecurity in Haiti and to bring transparency to the systems and actors fueling instability. It has meant working to stop the flow of guns from the United States into Haiti, the Caribbean and Latin America, where weapons trafficking contributes to violence, instability and displacement.
And it has meant standing with immigrants and communities during some of their most difficult moments.
That is why, as we celebrate the Quixote Center's 50th anniversary, I can think of no better person to receive the first Bill Callahan Human Rights Award than Guerline Jozef.
At a time when immigrants are facing tremendous uncertainty and attacks on their rights and dignity, Guerline continues to show up.
She leads with courage, compassion, purpose and an unwavering belief in our responsibility to one another.
Those are also values that have guided the Quixote Center for 50 years.
This celebration is about honoring where we have been, recognizing people like Guerline who continue to carry this work forward, and recommitting ourselves to what comes next.
I hope you will join us on Saturday, September 19, 2026 at 6:30 PM at the Silver Spring Civic Center in Silver Spring, Maryland as we celebrate 50 years of the Quixote Center and honor Guerline Jozef with the inaugural Bill Callahan Human Rights Award.
Come celebrate the people who have kept showing up, especially when the work was difficult. Come celebrate what communities can accomplish when we refuse to look away from injustice. And come help us begin the Quixote Center's next 50 years.
There is still so much work to do, and we need each other to do it!
-from Claudette David, board president
RSVP: https://quixote.org/50th-anniversary-celebration
