Position:
Board Member
Although Candace Groudine specialized in discrimination law while a student at Georgetown University Law Center, after her nephew, Bart, suffered a severe TBI, she became increasingly interested in focusing on disability law. She is a retired senior civil rights officer with the federal government and taught constitutional law-related subjects as an adjunct senior lecturer at UMBC for a number of years. She is now an adjunct professor at Montgomery College’s Lifelong Learning Institute in Maryland. She is a Commissioner on Montgomery County’s Human Rights Commission and an ex-officio Commissioner on the County’s Commission on Persons with Disabilities. Candace’s publications and presentations in the area of disability include but are not limited to the following topics: the relationship between equitable development and how embracing accessibility results in significant sustainability gains; ADA/Section 504 essentials for state civil rights specialists; potential concerns about ADA/Section 504 in a Post-COVID-19 legal world; and federal enforcement of ADA regulations. She is the recipient of two “Administrator’s Awards” while working at the Federal Highway Administration for “outstanding leadership in advancing the Americans with Disabilities Act and Environmental Justice as integral parts of the civil rights discipline.”
Candace was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a resident of Maryland for more than 25 years. She earned a JD from Georgetown University Law Center and is licensed to practice law in Maryland and Washington, D.C. Her PhD is in educational administration and policy studies from SUNY Albany, her MA in Philosophy from Columbia University, and her BA in Philosophy from Brooklyn College (CUNY). When Candace was 65 years old, she and her life partner summitted Mount Kilimanjaro and they continue to pursue their love of hiking and travel. Candace joined the BART Foundation’s Board of Trustees shortly after the Foundation was established. In the wake of her nephew Bart’s severe TBI, she became a passionate advocate of safe alternatives for TBI and other brain injuries. She has a special interest in shedding light on underserved populations of TBI survivors – victims of partner abuse, homeless individuals, prison inmates, and female athletes.