About Us
We offer a full range of services (e.g., in-person and virtual training, policies and procedures development, monitoring, discrimination complaints handling) to support compliance with Federal civil rights laws that apply to your public-facing programs and activities. Our specialty is nondiscriminatory delivery of services, aid, benefits, and training to the public under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 188 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the Age Discrimination Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act, and Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act.
National, State, and Local Speaking Engagements
Ms. Foster is a nationally-recognized speaker, consultant, and trainer at national, regional, and state conferences and events sponsored by public and private sector entities, including the U.S. Department of Labor’s Civil Rights Center, the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, the American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity, and at the U.S. Institute for Peace for the National Civil Rights Conference. Topics covered by Ms. Foster vary widely and reflect evolving trends in the delivery of public-facing programs and activities, such as ensuring access and opportunity for persons with disabilities and individuals who are limited English proficient, conducting discrimination complaint investigations and drafting determinations, elements of an inclusive workforce development program, and harassment and hostile environment.
For more information about speaking and training engagements, click on the “Training” tab.
Seena K. Foster
Principle
Seena Foster, Principal of Title VI Consulting, assists administrators, equal opportunity professionals, and private sector businesses understand the civil rights laws that apply to their programs, activities, and operations. Her background includes 24 years as Senior Legal Advisor to the Labor Department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges, where she drafted decisions and orders and developed resources and aids promoting consistency and efficiency in several national adjudication programs. In 2012, Ms. Foster received the U.S. Secretary of Labor’s Exceptional Achievement Award “for outstanding leadership and legal guidance in helping the Office of Administrative Law Judges address the major changes in law” stemming from enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Ms. Foster also served on detail as a Senior Policy Analyst to the Labor Department’s Civil Rights Center (CRC). In 2003, she led a team of specialists to conduct disability-based technical assistance reviews, prepared materials for limited English proficiency compliance reviews, prepared determinations issued by Director Annabelle Lockhart resolving numerous discrimination complaints, and presented at the CRC/NASWA national equal opportunity forum. In 2006, Ms. Foster received the Secretary of Labor’s Equal Employment Opportunity Award for her work at the CRC, and, on request by the CRC, Ms. Foster continued to serve as a workshop presenter at subsequent CRC/NASWA equal opportunity conferences conducting workshops on conducting discrimination complaint investigations and writing determinations, and addressing harassment and hostile environment complaints in educational programs and activities.
Her award-winning book, Civil Rights Investigations under the Workforce Investment Act and other Title VI-Related Laws: From Intake to Final Determination, and her highly popular on-demand webcasts covering compliance and discrimination complaints investigations have been applauded by equal opportunity and compliance professionals for their clarity and content.
Ms. Foster has a Juris Doctorate from The George Washington University Law School, and received Federal workplace mediation certification from the Northern Virginia Mediation Service as well as a mediation certification from the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI). She is a member of the District of Columbia, Virginia, and United States Supreme Court bars as well as serving on the Human Rights and Discrimination Law committees of the International Bar Association.
In her local community of Alexandria, Virginia, Ms. Foster has volunteered at Carpenter’s Shelter, and served on its Development Committee and Major Donors and Partners Subcommittee from 2009-2014. In addition, she served on Alexandria’s Economic Opportunities Commission from 2010-2017, which addresses availability of housing and jobs for economically-disadvantaged persons. In 2013, Ms. Foster received the City of Alexandria’s “Joan White Grass Roots Service Award” for her commitment of time and effort “working to improve the lives of the homeless as well as advocating their needs and the mission of Carpenter’s Shelter in the community.”
Kuzma Kopano
Business Operations & Marketing
Kuzma Kopano oversees business operations and marketing. He is fluent in several languages, including French, Italian, Greek, Serbian, Croatian, Turkish, and Bulgarian. He has lived and worked in many countries around the world over the past 40 years. Through these experiences, he brings in-depth understanding of cultural and religious differences and how these differences affect our understanding of, and compliance with, nondiscrimination and equal opportunity requirements of federal civil rights laws. And, Mr. Kopano has a particular interest in children’s issues and regularly volunteers at Carpenter’s Shelter. In 2010, Mr. Kopano completed certification requirements for, and was sworn in as, a Virginia Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) serving the interests of abused and neglected children through the non-profit organization, SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now) of Northern Virginia.
NOTICE: The opinions expressed during training and in our resources are our own. They do not reflect the views or positions of any federal, state, or local government authority. We do not provide any legal advice regarding specific cases or circumstances pending before any of our customers. Legal advice should be obtained from the civil rights office of the Federal funding agency, or your Equal Opportunity (EO) leadership.