Abra Francois

Biography

Abra Francois is a supervisory attorney at the US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR). She oversees compliance reviews and civil rights investigations of educational institutions that receive federal financial assistance and places of public accommodation based on race, color, national origin (Title VI); disability (Section 504/Title II); sex (Title IX), and/or age (the Age Act). Before becoming a supervisory attorney, Abra was a civil rights attorney at OCR. In this position, she performed all stages of the investigations, including interviewing witnesses, negotiating resolution agreements, and providing technical assistance to ensure compliance with the civil rights laws the department enforces.

Prior to joining OCR, Abra worked at the US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of General Counsel, and focused on employment discrimination law. She started her career as an assistant corporation counsel at the New York City Law Department in the Labor and Employment Law Division. In this position, Abra handled all aspects of litigation, including depositions and discovery, for federal and state court matters.

Abra received her JD from Boston College Law School in 2008. During law school, she was a member of the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition Team and the Black Law Students Association. Abra received her BA in Psychology from Simmons College.