KAPPA NEWS: LAW AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
W hen John Woods, Jr, Director while at The State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany where he majored in political science with a minor in Criminal Justice, he knew this was just the beginning. His service while in school centered around homelessness and affordable housing advocacy at the grassroots level and through internships held with the New York State Assembly. He then earned a Masters degree in Public Management/Policy (Specializa- tion in International Development) from New York University (NYU). But what motivated him to become an attorney is an interesting story. "Prior to law school I established a career in conflict and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). My career trajec- tory led me to law school. Important to note, my career in ADR and the law was shaped, in part by two influential Nupes – Spencer Lewis, former District Director for the United States Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) and Congressman Alcee Hastings (FL- 20 th District)," said Woods. "While at the EEOC, I served as the Chief Mediator and Head of Alterna- tive Dispute Resolution for the EEOC’s Washington Field Office. An opportu- nity that was created for me by Brother Lewis." Woods' career with the EEOC started when he was hired and worked for Brother Lewis as a Federal Civil Rights Investigator while he was then the District Director of the EEOC’s New York District Office. While working for Brother Lewis, the EEOC broadened its mission and mandate to include dispute resolution (mediation, negotiation, con- ciliation) as a mechanism to eradicate employment discrimination. "Enforcement (investigation, litigation) was the primary methods used prior to this point. As the EEOC prepared to implement this shift in focus, Brother (Kappa Rho 1992) served as Polemarch of his chap- ter as well as Guide Right
Lewis was influential in my appoint- ment to the agency’s task force charged with developing and implementing the EEOC’s ADR/Mediation program. Be- cause of this exposure and experience, I eventually was appointed as the Chief Mediator and Head of Alternative Dis- pute Resolution (ADR) for the EEOC’s Washington Field Office. Brother Lewis’ encouragement assisted me in playing a significant role in this industry, ADR, at its infancy stage." Woods credits Congressman Alcee Hast- ings with facilitating his international ADR experience. He worked for Con- gressman Hastings as a Congressional Fellow. While working for Congressman Hastings, he appointed me to Congres- sional delegations that traveled to Spain, Morocco, the Western Sahara, and Algeria to assess conflict in those regions as well as observe dispute resolution methods used to manage and to facili- tate the resolution of these disputes. During these assignments, he developed contacts with the United Nations that played a vital role in the development and implementation of the human rights project in the Dominican Republic last summer. Because of these experiences and expo- sure Woods gained through opportuni- ties presented by Brothers Lewis and Hastings, he then developed a global conflict resolution consulting and train- ing firm. "Through my firm, I have pro- vided services in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa. While completing an assignment in Jamaica, W.I., a client introduced me to a Law Professor at Howard University School of Law. This Professor convinced me that I could build on my professional efforts in ADR by becoming a lawyer. Consequently, I began Howard University School of Law in 2005 at 35 years of age. I graduated in 2008." Woods manages a transactions and dispute resolution practice, serving as an arbitrator, administrative judge, media- tor, conciliator, as well as a civil and hu- man rights fact-finder. He also negotiate
business and real estate transactions.
When Woods was presented with the opportunity to serve as an experiential, or clinical law professor at Howard Uni- versity School of Law, he took it. In that role, he is the Co-Director of the ADR Institute. "This arrangement allows me to maintain my private legal practice and apply my practical experience to my academic role with the law school. Al- though I was offered opportunities with other law schools, I could not pass up the opportunity to serve at the Mecca." He teaches Negotiation and Alternative Dispute Resolution, Alternative Dis- pute Resolution Clinic and the Human Rights-Rule of Law Fact Finding Clinic. This brought the issues being confront- ed in the Dominican Republic into a fact-finding mission. "The issue in the Dominican Republic, concerning Black Dominicans of Haitian descent, is a complicated one. The Government of the Dominican Republic and its supporters have framed this issue as an immigration issue. However, this issue is not an immigrations issue, but a nationality or citizenship issue," stated Woods. "Specifically, because of laws enacted by the Dominican government in 2013 and applied retroactively to 1929, anywhere from one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand Black Dominicans of Haitian descent have been stripped of their citizenship and are now Stateless, where no country recognizes them as citizens. These individuals were never citizens of Haiti as has been inaccurately reported." "Because of the complexities concerning this issue, I was contacted by officials from the U.S. State Department and the United Nations to facilitate a conflict as- sessment of the issue. I traveled to the region (Haiti and Dominican Republic) in 2016. Upon my return and assess- ing the needs on the ground within the Dominican Republic, I created the fact-finding mission as a for credit course through Howard University School of Law with regional partners in
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