Maryam Elahi joined OSI in June 2007 as the director of the International Women’s Program. Prior to OSI, Elahi was the founding director of the Human Rights Program at Trinity College—the first undergraduate college human rights program in the United States. She taught courses on international human rights law at Trinity, as well as at the Oxford University Summer International Human Rights Program. During her ten years at Trinity, she traveled extensively to set up international programs with a human rights focus resulting in the establishment of programs in Cape Town, Santiago, Trinidad, and Hong Kong.

Elahi served as the Advocacy Director on the Middle East, North Africa and Europe for Amnesty International in DC from 1990–1997. During this period, she testified frequently before congressional committees, lectured widely and made presentations before the media, and policy and academic institutions. Previously, Elahi had worked at Amnesty International developing AI’s work on gender and human rights. She had also worked at the Lawyer’s Committee for Human Rights.

Elahi is the chair of the International Human Rights Committee of the American Bar Association and has served on numerous boards including the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, the ACLU of CT and AI’s Policy Board. She has written and lectured on a wide range of human rights issues including women’s rights, U.S. and human rights foreign policy, the "war on terror," and Middle East issues. She has carried out missions for AI and other human rights organizations to numerous countries including Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Iraq, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Northern Ireland, and Guatemala. She is a graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Boston College Law School, and Williams College. Elahi is a member of the DC and MA Bar Associations.