Meet Karen Woodard ‘90, English. Karen is chief of the Employment Litigation Section in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and an active member of the UMBC Alumni Association Board of Directors, serving as Vice President of Finance and one of the co-chairs of the Alumni Awards committee. As an undergrad, Karen was heavily involved on campus. She played on the women’s basketball team all four years—serving as team captain her senior year—and was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., serving as president also in her senior year. Karen credits her time at UMBC and its nurturing community for preparing her for future success. Tell us all about it, Karen!
Q: What is your WHY? What brought you to UMBC?
A: I came to UMBC because I believed I would receive a first-class education, could continue my athletic career, and would be supported in both pursuits.
Q: Where have you found support in the UMBC community?
A: As a student, I had so many opportunities to develop my leadership skills as an athlete, as part of Greek life, and in the classroom. When I decided to apply to law school, members of the UMBC community, including professors and coaches, encouraged me to aim high. I applied to and was accepted by several top law schools. I ultimately decided to attend Duke. I could not have achieved that goal without the nurturing and support of the UMBC community.
“I love the sense of community I find among my basketball teammates, sorority sisters, and other alumni I am connected with.
Karen Woodard ’90
Q: What’s one essential thing you’d want another Retriever to know about you?
A: While at UMBC, I was a member of the women’s basketball team, a four-year letter winner, and captain during my senior year. I was honored as the Outstanding Scholar Athlete for the 1989 – 1990 season. I also joined Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Lambda Kappa Chapter, serving as president from 1989 – 1990. Additionally, I received the Student Affairs Leadership Award.
Left: Karen at the 2013 Chapter of Black & Latinx Alumni (CBLA) Homecoming Throwback Party. Right: Karen and others at the 2016 UMBC Grit & Greekness Alumni Reunion.
Q: Tell us about someone in the community who has inspired you or supported you, and how they did it.
A: During my time at UMBC, I was inspired and supported by the upperclass members of the Lambda Kappa Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, These women were accomplished in the classroom and involved in service to the UMBC campus and Baltimore community, and they modeled how to balance all of these important parts of a student’s life with excellence. They each inspired me to achieve and encouraged and supported me as I worked my way though UMBC, and they continue to do the same even today.
After UMBC, I went on to graduate from Duke University School of Law. Currently, I am chief of the Employment Litigation Section in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
Q: Tell us more about your current job. What do you like most about it?
A: As a civil rights attorney, I enjoy bringing cases that vindicate the rights of individuals and classes of people those who have been discriminated against to ensure the unlawful behavior is not repeated and the workplace is left better than what it was when we started our case.
Karen at the 2022 UMBC Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony placing a commemorative stole around Dana Eberly Keiner, volleyball, 1993 – 96.
Q: How have you stayed connected with the UMBC community?
A: I truly love my work on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, and specifically as co-chair of the Alumni Awards committee. I enjoy working with fellow alumni who love UMBC and are committed to helping get more alumni involved in the Alumni Association and seeing the university continue to thrive. As the co-chair of the awards committee, I look forward to reading about the many accomplished alumni who are nominated. It fills me with a sense of pride to know UMBC produces so many accomplished individuals. I also feel very inspired by my work with the Athletic Department’s Hall of Fame committee.
About the Alumni Awards
Extraordinary UMBC alumni, faculty, and staff are making a difference in the world, and the UMBC Alumni Association Board of Directors holds an annual celebration of their accomplishments. Past winners have included a U.S. Surgeon General, a Lucasfilm sound editor, the New Yorker‘s social media director, chief judges, teachers, and scientists advancing fields such as medicine, chemical engineering, physics, and biology. We also honor outstanding UMBC faculty and staff members for their role in guiding and nurturing students. Five types of awards are given: Outstanding Graduate, Distinguished Service, Rising Star, Outstanding Faculty, and Outstanding Staff.
A few board members with President Valerie Sheares Ashby at the 2023 Alumni Awards.
Pictured left to right: Damian Doyle ’99, M.S., ’16 , Karen Woodard ’90, Dann Malihom ’10, M.A. ’16, Kevin Yang ’07, Robbin Lee ’13, Anita Turner Wilkins ’79, Leslie Lyles Smith ’91, Monique Cephas ’92, Vanita Murray ‘95, Zozscha Bomhardt ’93, Nancy Chiles Shaffer ‘09, Kisha Watkins Parker ‘00, Bobby Lubaszewski ’10, M.P.S. ’23
Q: What’s the one thing you’d want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about the support you find here?
A: As an alum, you will feel supported by all levels of the university, including President Valerie Sheares Ashby—who truly cares about all who are connected to UMBC—the Office of Alumni Engagement, and the many staff members who are dedicated to supporting UMBC alumni.
Q: What drives you to support UMBC?
A: I support the Alumni Endowed Scholarship and the UMBC Athletics Department, women’s basketball program. With my support of the alumni scholarship, I know I am pouring into some of the best and brightest of UMBC’s current students. I also find it important as a women’s basketball alum to give back to the program that helped define me as a student. I learned so much and grew so much as a student and athlete during my four years on the team, and I want to do my part to help the current group of athletes succeed.
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UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about.
