Women United Spotlight: Dorothy Hoffman
Tell us about yourselfI am a health policy leader at Eli Lilly and Company. When I’m not working, you can find me on the soccer pitch with my husband cheering on our young son or digging around our garden. I am an Air Force brat so we lived in lots of different cities around the world. My family lives in Colorado Springs and Indianapolis is my adopted home town! What are you passionate about?I am passionate about working with others to find solutions to social and public policy challenges in our communities. To me this means creating connections with organizations and people, finding common ground, and advocating for public policy changes. When and how did you first become involved with United Way?I’ve always been a donor to the United Way through Lilly’s workplace campaign. My real connection to the organization came just a few years ago. I represented Lilly at a roundtable on childhood obesity convened by the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington DC. As I listened to the discussion, I realized that the best contribution I could make was to share how UWCI, Lilly, and other partners had come together to create Jump IN for Healthy Kids. The feedback at the roundtable was overwhelmingly positive. It resulted in new connections for Jump IN AND an invitation to participate in a National Academies of Science event on the same topic. I saw firsthand the influence of the work of UWCI and how it can set a positive example for other organizations across the country. Why do you choose support United Way’s mission?I support United Way’s mission because it is aligned with my passion – working with others to find solutions to social and public policy challenges in our communities. What interested you most about Women United?Women United’s work to support early childhood education interests me the most. For several years we have worked closely with the Department of Education and other organizations to create literacy kits for kids. As we go into 2018, we are exploring how we can support STEM activities in the upcoming school year. What is your favorite memory or event with Women United?From the early childhood education literacy kits to women’s leadership events, it is really hard to choose one favorite memory! I am in awe of everything that Women United has accomplished with our community partners. I am looking forward to working with the team to continue our momentum and to build new memories.