Maine Women's Policy Center
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Linda Smith Dyer's Legacy
The Linda Smith Dyer Fellowship
Thanks to all of our donors who helped us reach the goal of 275,000 dollars! Your contribution to the Linda Smith Dyer Endowment Fund has allowed us to expand the scope of the Fellowship and create new opportunities for policy development for women and girls!
Linda Smith Dyer (1948-2001)
About the Fellowship
Linda Smith Dyer was one of the original founders of the Maine Women's Lobby in 1978, an organization devoted to improving the lives of Maine women and girls. The Maine Women's Lobby and the Maine Women's Policy Center pursue public policy in four broad areas: economic justice; health care, including reproductive rights; freedom from violence; and civil rights.
Linda was a model for Maine girls and women in her devotion to the public interest, skill in navigating public policy, and sheer intellectual sparkle. Her pioneering work has been widely recognized: In March 2001, Linda was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame and she received the Sarah Orne Jewett award from the Maine Women's Fund in October, shortly after her untimely death from cancer. Linda graduated from the University of Maine School of Law in 1980 and served as president of the Maine State Bar Association in 1998.
The Linda Smith Dyer Fellowship will advance Linda's strong example of public policy and public interest work by law students at her alma mater. Linda Smith Dyer Fellows provide sophisticated research and advanced analysis on policy related to women and girls. And, they go on to perform as leaders in their fields, frequently in public interest law, policy, and social change.
