Dorothy Martin, 75, first came to Washington in 1962. She was 17 and joined her sister who was moving from their hometown of Pitt County, North Carolina. She first worked at the Casino Royal and the Blue Mirror Grill, then the Sheraton-Park Hotel, and finally landed at the National Institutes of Health in the Nutrition Department.
Dorothy eventually worked in the metabolic kitchen at the height of the AIDS epidemic. It was Dr. Anthony Fauci, then during the AIDS epidemic, who assured her that her work was important, meaningful, and that she could do her work safely and without fear – directly confronting the stigma of HIV but also, as he does today, reminding her the important role we can all play in maintaining healthy communities through sound public health measures.
Dorothy retired in 2006 and joined the Village several years later at a Woodley Park community picnic near her home on Devonshire Place. She has remained living in the same apartment since 1976 and so she’s a natural Village “ambassador” convincing her longtime neighbors to also join the Village. About being a member, Dorothy says, “It’s a lifesaver. Anytime I need anything, I know that I can rely on the Village. I no longer drive so the Village has become invaluable to me. They even helped me get a vaccine appointment.”