The Song Sparrow Award was established in 1996 and is Columbus Audubon's highest honor. It recognizes outstanding contributions by Audubon members who promote CA's mission often over the course of years. Traditionally, at least one Song Sparrow award is given every year for education, conservation, or meritorious service.
People
Warren I. Grody
Warren Grody has been an attorney with Bricker & Eckler for the last 26 years, where he assists school districts, colleges and universities with a variety of issues, including Title IX compliance, public ethics issues, public records, open meetings, privacy laws, false claims, special audits and proper expenditure of public funds. In the Title IX arena, Warren has served as an investigator, legal advisor and a Resolution Hearing Officer. Warren has been involved in investigations in one role or another for 32 years.
He is a former Assistant Attorney General in the Health Care Fraud Section and a former Contract Specialist with Defense Supply Center Columbus, where he administered contracts and purchase orders of contractors under investigation for defrauding the Department of Defense.
Experience
-
Trade secrets and Sunshine Laws
Assisted a client with protecting trade secrets and proprietary information when confidential information had to be submitted to public agencies with bid documents, proposals or other materials.
Professional & Community Activities
- President, Past Exalted Ruler Association, Columbus Grove City Elks Lodge No. 37
- Former Board of Trustees (2009 - 2015) and former Treasurer (2010 - 2012), Columbus Audubon
- Founding Member, Grange Insurance Audubon Center
- Former President and Council Member, St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2005-2009
- Former Board of Trustees, Habitat for Humanity MidOhio, 1999-2005
Presentations & Published Works
- Presenter, Deep Dive Into Shared Governance (Higher Education), Bricker & Eckler Webinar, December 2021
- Presenter, FERPA Refresher for Higher Education, Bricker & Ecker Webinar, September 2021
- Presenter, “Persnickety Public Records Predicaments,” Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association Summer Workshop, June 2021
- Presenter, "Episode IV: Now What? Title IX and the Biden Administration", December 2020
- Presenter, "Important Reminders and Potential Impacts from a New Administration", December 2020
- Presenter, "Title IX Level 2: Report Writing for Investigators and Decision-Makers", June-January 2021
- Presenter, "Title IX Level 2 Training: Decision-Makers", October 2020
- Presenter, "Title IX Level 1 Training", August 2020
- Presenter, "New Title IX Hot Takes for K-12", May 2020
- Presenter, "Wrapping Up Your School Year and Looking Forward", April 2020
- Presenter, "Cops on Campus: Legal Update", January 2020
- Presenter, "When They Ask to See Your Notes: What's a Public Record and How Quickly Do You Have to Produce It?", August 2019
- Presenter, "Due Process and Student Discipline", August 2019
- Presenter, "G-Suite and Education Records Request - An Overview", 2018-2019
- Presenter, "OASSA Update - Can Your Redactions be Reversed?", October 2018
- Speaker, "OASBO Essentials of Human Resources, 2018-2019", August 2018
- Presenter, "Public Records and Private Police", October 2017
- Speaker, "Public Records for Private Universities," Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio, July 2015
- Author, "Are legal bills public records?" (reprinted in Ohio Cities & Villages, Grassroots Clippings and HCLL News), January/February 2013
- Author, "Burdick v. Takushi: Death of Donald Duck as a Political Force?" 21 Cap. U.L. Rev. 297, 1992
Bar Admissions & Activities
- Admitted, State of Ohio; United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
- Member, Columbus Bar Association
Education
- Capital University (J.D., summa cum laude, 1993); Editor-in-Chief, Capital University Law Review, 1992-1993; Order of the Curia; Recipient of Dean's Award, 1993
- Wright State University (B.A., magna cum laude, 1987)
Song Sparrow Award Recipient