Idaho Human Rights Commission to Appoint New Director

BOISE, Idaho – Idaho will have a new director of its Human Rights Commission in late August.

Benjamin Earwicker will replace current director Linda Goodman, who will retire on Aug. 26. Earwicker will begin his new duties the following day.

Earwicker comes to his new position with experience as a faculty member and administrator at universities in the U.S. and New Zealand, social worker at agencies in Idaho and a small business owner.

Earwicker joined the commission as a bilingual civil rights investigator and mediator in January 2016 and has worked closely with Goodman on expanding the commission’s educational outreach efforts. He also represents the commission as secretary on the board of the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies.

Goodman will leave her post with more than 30 years working with the commission. She served the commission as a civil rights investigator and senior investigator and certified professional mediator. She was appointed director and administrator in 2014.

During her tenure, Goodman handled more than 6,000 cases as mediator and investigator, was a founding board member of the Idaho Task Force on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has served on the Mayor’s and Governor’s Committees on the ADA and represented Idaho on the Northwest ADA Advisory Committee.

In her capacity as administrator,

Goodman developed and expanded the commission’s mediation program as an alternative path to full resolution of discrimination complaints and has earned recognition by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for the IHRC’s thorough, fair and impartial investigations and legal determinations.