Cynthia W. Clinton serves as Assistant Vice-President for Harassment and Discrimination Prevention and Compliance in the Duke University Office for Institutional Equity. In this position, she is responsible for implementing Duke’s harassment and nondiscrimination policies, as well as supporting compliance with applicable federal and state employment related laws and regulations. Ms. Clinton is the primary investigator of claims of harassment or discrimination. In her role, Ms. Clinton provides university and health system wide training and consultation in these areas and training focused on diversity and inclusion. She works closely with members of the Duke community to ensure compliance with Duke’s harassment and non-discrimination policies. Ms. Clinton also administers Duke’s disability grievance procedures. Prior to her work at Duke, Ms. Clinton practiced law for several years in the areas of employment discrimination, civil rights, sexual harassment and personal injury, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. Her practice included managing civil litigation matters from initial client interview through trial and, when warranted, at the appellate level. During the latter portion of her practice, Ms. Clinton represented educational and governmental defendants in race and sex discrimination cases. Ms. Clinton received her undergraduate degree at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. She received her law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law.

Katherine Carlson specializes in labor and employment dispute resolutions, civil rights, EEO and Title IX compliance.  She is the Director of the Department of Internal Investigations, Office of Legal and Regulatory Affairs at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (“UTMB”).   In this role, she oversees all internal civil rights, labor and employment, and higher education dispute resolutions and investigations.  Additionally, she oversees Title IX and Clery Act compliance.  Prior to this position, she was in a dual role as an Associate Compliance Officer and Associate Legal Officer at UTMB where she managed the fraud and abuse hotline, conducted compliance investigations, and practiced employment law. 

​

Shelley Carthen Watson, Senior Associate General Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel at the University of Minnesota. Her practice is primarily devoted to providing advice, counsel, and training in labor relations and employment issues, as well as defense of the University in collective bargaining and internal grievance arbitrations, and administrative matters before the EEOC, Minnesota Department of Human Rights and Department of Labor. Prior to coming to the University, Ms. Carthen Watson was a partner with the law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, where her practice focused on business litigation and employment counseling and litigation. The former Deputy Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, she also served as Executive Director of the Hennepin County Bar Association and Hennepin County Bar Foundation. An honors graduate of Macalester College, she received her law degree from Northwestern University School of Law in 1985. Ms. Carthen Watson recently served as a member of the Board of Directors of NACUA, and is the recent recipient of their First Decade Award that recognizes university attorneys who have been NACUA members for 10 or fewer years and have made "a significantly innovative contribution, or provided outstanding service, to the association and to the practice."