Staff
Sam Jones
PresidentSam Jones is president and co-founder of Heartland Initiative, where he leads the development of methodologies, tools, and guidance to assist investors in the prevention and mitigation of human rights harms across their portfolios. Sam has more than 25 years of experience in conflict-sensitive research, analysis, and programming, international humanitarian and human rights law, and multi-stakeholder engagement in public and private spheres. Before co-founding Heartland, Sam worked as Associate Director of the Human Rights Program at The Carter Center, where he managed programs in the Middle East and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including those focused on corporate accountability for human rights harms in industrial mining and the protection of human rights defenders. Sam previously served as regional representative for Asia/Near East for Counterpart International, managing humanitarian and development programs in Iraq and Jordan and leading assessment missions to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, and Afghanistan.
Sam holds a master’s degree in international peace and conflict resolution from American University’s School of International Service and a Bachelor of Arts Political Science from the University of North Carolina – Asheville.
Rich Stazinski
Executive DirectorRich Stazinski is executive director and co-founder of Heartland Initiative, where he leads the
organization’s efforts to engage and advise institutional investors, policymakers, civil society organizations, and business leadership. Rich has more than 20 years of experience conducting geopolitical research and analysis, designing and leading advocacy campaigns, and providing strategic leadership to nonprofit organizations. Prior to co-founding Heartland, Rich served as the Vice President of the Telos Group, where he advised and built coalitions among many of the leading human rights defenders in the Middle East, Europe, and United States on U.S. advocacy efforts. Rich has served in nonprofit and governmental advocacy leadership positions with the Save Darfur Coalition, Citizens for Global Solutions, the Stanley Foundation, and the Human Resources Investment Council for the State of Indiana. Rich is a native of Northwest Indiana, where he began his professional career as the campaign manager for (retired) U.S. Representative Peter J. Visclosky.
Rich holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Indiana University and a Master of Public Affairs degree in Nonprofit Management and International Affairs from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
Mallory Miller
Legal AdvisorMallory Miller is a legal advisor providing investigative, legal, and scholarly research on corporate proximity to human rights abuses in conflict-affected and high-risk areas, the intersection of human rights and financially material risks for companies and investors in these areas, and the risks of targeted and mass surveillance in the Global South. Mallory has managed projects developing litigation strategies and legal solutions that address labor rights abuses throughout supply chains with Corporate Accountability Lab. Mallory also worked with NomoGaia, a business and human rights research organization, as a research analyst. In this role, Mallory’s research supported human rights impact assessments in the palm oil sector and a rights-holder-focused study on the effectiveness of non-judicial grievance mechanisms in support of the UN Access to Remedy Project.
Mallory earned her Juris Doctor and a Certificate in International Legal Studies from the University of Denver and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Pepperdine University.