Meet the Team
April Woodward, Esq. (she/her/hers)
April began her career as an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action attorney representing some of the largest government contractors in the country, and has ample experience in compliance focused anti-discrimination matters, including both Title VII and Title IX compliance training, litigation and investigations. April conducted hundreds of Title IX and related investigations while employed for nearly four years at a large state institution. She has also represented many employers and institutions during various Federal government program reviews and compliance reviews for favorable outcomes.
April has nearly ten years of experience in all areas of Title IX, including both internal and external investigations, Decision Making/Hearing Officer, Advising, Interim Title IX Coordination, and Policy Review. April has worked for several years as an independent provider of Title IX services at a variety of colleges and universities nationwide, including everything from large state universities to small liberal arts and religious institutions. April’s unique background in multiple areas of discrimination law and regulatory compliance, as well as her hands-on experience working in Title IX at Kent State University, result in a dynamic combination of substantial industry knowledge, trauma-informed approaches to her Title IX services.
April earned her B.S. in Accounting, in 2008, from Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio, where she was a member of the ICTA Equestrian Team. She graduated from the University of Akron School of Law in 2014. She served as a Compliance Investigator and Deputy Title IX Coordinator at Kent State University from 2015-2018, and has worked in private practice since early 2019 with a focus on Title IX. April and her husband, Justin, have two children, Violet (6) and Trevor (5). In her free time, April enjoys equestrian pursuits and is also an avid recreational kayaker.
Carole Goddard, Ed.S. (she/her/hers)
With 13 years working in Higher Education, Carole has experience in every facet of Title IX and Institutional Equity processes, policies, and investigating. She is a trained Civil Rights Investigator and Administrator who has worked with institutional leadership , legal counsel, employees, and students to provide guidance through incidents of Civil Rights-based policy violations. She has experience building and operationalizing policy and processes in the areas of Institutional Equity, Inclusive Search and Hiring Practices, and Sexual Misconduct (Title IX and non-Title IX) from the ground up.
Contracted Services
Edgewater Higher Education Solutions partners with a network of higher education professionals in the areas of CARE, BIT, Conflict Resolution, Threat Assessment, Student Conduct and more. If you have a need that we can't meet, we will contract with a trusted and vetted expert or refer you to one.