meet our team

ELIZABETH ABDNOUR

Advisor & Investigator

Liz Abdnour

Background

Elizabeth (Liz) Abdnour is an experienced civil rights and employment attorney. She represents students and provides investigative, consulting, and training services to educational institutions, groups, and nonprofits of all sizes. After a career in legal services, where she learned how to advocate for underserved clients from a trauma-informed perspective and supervised a law school practice clinic, Liz transitioned into higher education where she spent three years in the civil rights office at a large and grant university. Liz then opened her own law and consulting practice where she now serves both individual and institutional clients. The combination of Liz’s legal experience and her years as an investigator and equity coordinator give her unparalleled expertise regarding educational institutions’ obligations with respect to civil rights and Title IX response.

Trainings

  • Sexual Violence and LGBTQ Communities Training, RAINN – Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network

Education

  • J.D., New York University School of Law
  • B.A., Michigan State University, James Madison College and the Honors College

Professional Associations

  • The Firecracker Foundation, Board Member
  • MI AECRES – Advocating for Every Child’s Right to Educational Success, Board Member
  • S. Representative Elissa Slotkin, District Title IX Advisory Board

Speaking Engagements

  • Level I: Title IX Investigator Training, Role of the Title IX Investigator (2022)
  • Stepping Up: Becoming an Effective Advisor, FAQ with Professional Advisors Session (2022)
  • Title IX in Motion, Plotting the Course: Title IX Investigation Preparation (August 2022), Title IX Solutions, LLC
  • Title IX and Sex Discrimination in Schools (May 2022), Oakland County Bar Association Employment Law Committee
  • Title IX – It’s Not Just About Athletics. What You Need to Know (April 2022), Co-Facilitator for the Federal Bar Association, New Orleans Chapter
  • Michigan Special Education Law (February 2022), Co-Facilitator for the National Business Institute
  • Role of a Title IX Investigator & Investigation Planning & Design – Postsecondary Audience (November 2021), Title IX Solutions, LLC
  • Role of a Title IX Investigator & Investigation Planning & Design – K-12 Audience (January 2022), Title IX Solutions, LLC
  • Current Title IX Legal, Social, and Policy Issues in the U.S. and at Michigan State University (April 2021), Dr. Susan Stein-Roggenbuck’s Sexual Politics Class at Michigan State University
  • Title IX Advisor Course: FAQs (March 2021), Title IX Solutions, LLC
  • Sex Discrimination in Educational Settings: Title IX, Clery, and Other Civil Rights Remedies (August 2020), Michigan Coalition to End Domestic & Sexual Violence and YWCA of Kalamazoo Staff, Lansing, Michigan
  • Title IX Investigations in the K-8 Settings (March 2020), Co-Facilitator for the Honey Creek Community School Staff, Lansing, Michigan
  • Title IX Advocacy (October 2019), Co-Facilitator for the Firecracker Foundation New Advocate Training
  • Cultivating a Culture of Equity (September 2019), Panelist for the Michigan Municipal League Annual Convention, Detroit, Michigan
  • Diversity, Equity, and Unconscious Bias: How We Create an Inclusive Environment and Employ People Who Represent the Community We Serve in Higher Education and Other Public Entities (June 2019), Co-Facilitator for the American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity (AAAED) National Conference and Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Sexual Violence and Institutions – Prevention, Policy, and Procedure (June 2019), Guest Lecture for Dessie Clark’s Sexual Violence Against Women and Children: Theory and Response Class at Michigan State University