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A resolution honoring the life and legacy of Dorothy "Dot" Dobbins.
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WHEREAS, Dorothy Eileen "Dot" Dobbins was born on July 17, 1947, in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Her father, C. Ray Dobbins, was an ordained minister, and her mother, Mary Alice Smith Dobbins, was an elementary school teacher; and
WHEREAS, Dot was the second of seven children. She grew up in Memphis, where she attended Central High School. After graduation, Dot attended Southern Methodist University ("SMU") in Dallas, Texas, where she studied politics, religion, and history; and
WHEREAS, while in college, she became active in the YWCA, attending programs in New York and Berkeley. She also participated in the memorial march for Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis in April 1968. She graduated from SMU in 1969; and
WHEREAS, after graduation, Dot worked for a year in welfare services in Dallas and then became a resident advisor to disadvantaged teenage girls in a Job Corps program in New Jersey for one year. After these experiences, she decided to attend law school; and
WHEREAS, in 1971, Dot entered Vanderbilt Law School as one of only twelve women in a class of 150. For Dot, law school was a way to engage in her passion of community service, joining the organization now known as Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee to provide legal assistance to low income and vulnerable members of the community; and
WHEREAS, after law school, Dot began working full time at Legal Aid. She worked at Legal Aid for 13 years, becoming the head of its family law unit; and
WHEREAS, in addition to her work with Legal Aid, Dot became a passionate advocate in Nashville. She worked with the Nashville YWCA to establish the first domestic violence shelter in the city. Dot was also an advocate for women in the practice of law, becoming a founding member of the Lawyers' Association for Women, which was established in 1981; and
WHEREAS, in 1987, Dot was invited to serve as the General Counsel for the Tennessee Depar...
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