Month: January 2017

VRLC Visit Team

Lindy Aldrich, Esq.

Deputy Director, Victim Rights Law Center

Lindy Aldrich has been with the VRLC since 2007, beginning as a staff attorney and becoming Deputy Director in 2010. Given that almost 50% of the VRLC’s clients are under the age of 24, Lindy and other VRLC staff attorneys work to ensure that sexual assault victims stay their educational course, including helping to curtail and ameliorate the often devastating impact of the assault on the victim’s safety, housing (dormitory or off-campus housing), employment (after school, on or off campus job), scholarship and extracurricular activities.

As a trainer on the VRLC’s national Technical Assistance grant, Lindy trains around the country on a number of topics including Title IX and Campus Sexual Assault Policies and Response. Lindy and other VRLC trainers remain at the forefront of this national discussion through consultations and trainings with state and national agencies, universities, and other legal service providers. She has been a Resource Team member and trainer for the OVW Campus Program Training and Technical Assistance Institute since 2010 and a recent presenter for the Project STOP NOW! conference for campus administrators from historically black colleges and universities. Lindy collaborates with the Clery Center for Security on Campus on webinars and conferences as a Title IX expert. In February 2014, Lindy was invited, by the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, to lend her expertise on Title IX and victim confidentiality.  She is also an Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) Training and Technical Assistance Center trainer and, in partnership with OVC, has delivered webinars and live chats on sexual violence and education. Lindy is a graduate of Suffolk University Law School.

Amanda Walsh, Esq.

Education Program Senior Attorney, Victim Rights Law Center

Amanda Walsh, Esq. returned to the VRLC in January 2017 as an Education Program Senior Attorney.  In this role, Amanda provides training and technical assistance to Office on Violence Against Women campus grantees.  From 2011-2015, Amanda was a VRLC staff attorney, focusing primarily on the representation of high school and college students who have been victims of sexual assault.  In addition to Title IX, Amanda represented clients seeking disability accommodations within the education setting and special education benefits under an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).  She also trained colleges and universities nationally on Title IX and campus sexual assault response.  Before returning to the VRLC, Amanda was the inaugural Title IX Program Officer at Brown University.  She was responsible for implementing Brown’s sexual and gender-based harassment and violence policy and complaint procedures, building Brown’s flagship Title IX Office, and overseeing all related complaint investigations.  In August 2014, Amanda was invited by the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault to lend her expertise on the unique issues facing K-12 sexual assault victims and their remedies under Title IX and IDEA.  In 2012, Amanda was recognized for her work in public interest and received the President’s Volunteer Service Award – Gold Level for her sustained commitment.  Amanda is a graduate of Northeastern University and Roger Williams University School of Law.

Candi N. Smiley, Esq.

Title IX Coordinator, Howard University

Candi N. Smiley, Esq. currently serves as the Title IX Coordinator for Howard University. Ms. Smiley coordinates the University’s response, prevention and education initiatives pursuant to Title IX and related statues and regulation. She also conducts and oversees investigations for complaints alleging sexual assault, sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, and gender-based discrimination.  Ms. Smiley previously served as a corporate attorney working on various matters involving federal agencies, private corporations and non-profit organizations. She has been a dedicated volunteer with organizations committed to assisting individuals suffering with drug addiction, alcohol abuse and domestic violence.   Ms. Smiley received her Juris Doctor degree from Indiana University Maurer School of Law.