April Dawson is the inaugural Associate Dean of Technology and Innovation and a Professor of Law at North Carolina Central University School of Law, where she oversees the NCCU Technology Law & Policy Center. She is the author of *Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity* (Aspen, 2023) and teaches courses such as Artificial Intelligence and the Law, AI and Legal Reasoning, and Legal Technology Equity & Leadership.

Dawson earned her undergraduate degree in computer science from Bennett College and worked as a computer programmer before pursuing a legal career. She received her law degree, cum laude, from Howard University School of Law in 1994. Upon graduation, Dawson joined the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) through the Attorney General’s Honors Program, where she argued cases before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits. In 1996, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Dawson holds numerous leadership roles in the legal and technology fields. She serves on the ABA Center for Innovation Governing Council and the ABA Science & Technology Law Section, where she contributes to the Law School & Interdisciplinary Education Outreach Committee. Additionally, she is a member of the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility Working Group on Regulatory Reform. Dawson chairs the North Carolina Bar Association’s Future of Law Committee and sits on the boards of Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc. and the North Carolina Governor’s Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice.

In addition to her academic and professional commitments, Dawson co-hosts the Legal Eagle Review radio show alongside her colleague Irving Joyner on WNCU 90.7 FM. The program features weekly interviews that explore law-related issues at the local, state, and national levels.