Enhance Your Skills Through Interactive Learning

Engage live and in person with hands-on exercises and hypothetical scenarios designed to deepen your understanding and expertise in civil rights compliance practices. Our interactive approach ensures that you not only learn the material but also gain practical insights you can apply to complex compliance matters, investigations, accommodations, and interdisciplinary collaboration within your district.

Collaborate with Peers

Network and collaborate with fellow professionals serving in civil rights and compliance roles across K-12 education. Build connections, share experiences, and foster a supportive community of practitioners from student services, human resources, special education, school leadership, and compliance offices. These meaningful connections will continue to benefit you long after the symposium concludes.

Gain Direct Access to Experts

Benefit from face-to-face interaction with the ICS team: get personalized guidance, ask questions, and receive invaluable support tailored to your district’s civil rights compliance needs. Explore practical strategies, discuss complex challenges, and gain insights that can strengthen your compliance program and support effective decision-making.

Betsy Smith

Chief Innovation Officer

Betsy brings a unique skill set to the ICS team, having served as both a student affairs professional and an assistant district attorney. Most recently, she worked for five years as a Director of Student Conduct and Deputy Title IX Coordinator at a large state institution where she conducted and oversaw over 2,000 Title IX and other campus investigations a year. The combination of Betsy’s familiarity with campus life, Title IX, and her background as prosecutor provides for a distinct, trauma informed, approach to her investigations. Betsy also specializes in using and presenting data to inform an institution’s prevention and response efforts in addressing sexual misconduct.Read More…

Celeste Bradley

Chief Solutions Officer

Celeste has been a labor and employment lawyer for almost two decades, serving as Associate General Counsel at BlueCross BlueShield over their labor and employment division (with over 6,000 employees in offices across Tennessee) and in-house employment counsel for a large trucking company and parking services company. Celeste adds a new dimension to our team, providing diversity training and programming, Title VI, Title VII and other Human Resource Professional training and workplace investigations for the private sector and education institutions. Serving as in-house counsel provided Celeste with valuable experience in the importance of providing efficient and thorough assistance while presenting the information with an understanding of the business needs. She is successful in partnering with companies to develop strategies for success while remaining compliant with applicable laws and regulations. Additionally, she provides union negotiation support from the election process to finalizing the collective bargaining agreement. She also has experience in drafting and implementing pandemic plans and building Crisis Response Team and plans. Read More…

Erica D’Agostino

Senior Title IX & Equity Specialist / Team Lead

Prior to joining the team at ICS, Erica worked for over 20 years in the field of education, sharing her time between K-12 and higher education. She began her career as a school psychologist working for a large NJ school district. Eventually Erica transitioned into higher education, directing a student support office and later serving as dean of advising for a prominent liberal arts college. During this time, in addition to her key duties as dean, Erica also began her work in the area of Title IX as an advisor and doing appellate work. After 12 years in higher education, Erica was ready to return to her roots in K-12 and took on the role of assistant head of school at a small independent school in PA. In this role, Erica was responsible for a wide array of student-facing services and worked as part of a team honing the school’s bias response protocols. Most recently, Erica served several universities as a Civil Rights investigator, advisor, and interim director of accessibility services, where she enjoyed her direct work with students and community partners. Read More…

Amy Buck

Senior Title IX & Equity Specialist / Attorney / Team Lead

Amy has practiced law for over ten years and has a background in higher education, having served as an acting director of admissions and as a college professor. Since her admission to the bar, Amy has worked in private practice, handling cases ranging from employment and corporate law to personal injury and domestic matters. Most recently, Amy has served as the staff attorney for a local court, where she was responsible for conducting legal research, drafting proposals and orders, compiling data, writing policies, and establishing procedures compliant with law and regulations. In her continuing role as an adjunct college professor, Amy has developed curriculums, served as a department coordinator, and taught courses specific to law and business. Amy brings a unique perspective to the team, having served in various roles at faith-based institutions. Read More…