The late Chandra “Cindy” Lekha Sriram had an extraordinary life that took her around the world.
Sriram was born in Texas but grew up mainly in Kentucky. She attended Todd County Central High School her freshman year before earning her associate’s degree at Bard College in 1989. She then earned a variety of degrees – a simultaneous bachelor’s in Political Science and master’s in International Relations from the University of Chicago in 1991, a Juris Doctor from the University of California-Berkeley in 1994 and a doctorate in Politics from Princeton University in 2000.
Even after five degrees, Sriram didn’t slow down. She went on to work for the International Peace Academy in New York. From 2003-2018, she was an educator at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, University of Maryland, University of London and University of East London in England. There at East London, she founded and directed the Centre on Human Rights in Conflict.
Sriram wrote extensively on human rights and related areas. She also conducted research across the globe in Central and South America, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, East Asia and Eastern Europe. She served as chair of the International Studies Association of Human Rights twice, co-chair of the London Transitional Justice Network and was co-editor of Routledge’s book series on law, conflict, and international relations.
A Todd Central classmate remembers Sriram as extremely smart and very kind. They were not surprised to see the accomplishments she achieved in her life, and noted she touched many lives over the years and the work she did will live on to influence people for many years to come.
Sriram passed away in 2018. There is a website dedicated to her at https://lachandra.org.
Spotlights on Todd Central alumni are part of a partnership between WEKT and the TCCHS Alumni Foundation, Inc. To be featured, please visit the Alumni Foundation’s website to fill out the application.
