American League of Lobbyists

Memorial Page

Evelyn (Evy) Dubrow

Evelyn (Evy) Dubrow
March 6, 1911 – June 20, 2006

One of the founders of ALL and a member of its Senior Council, Evy was one of the best-known and most highly regarded lobbyists in Washington. She died of a heart attack at age 95.

Evy represented garment workers for five decades and remained an active ALL member until she quit lobbying two years prior to her death. As far back as 1970, she was described as “the model of an effective lobbyist – persistent but not pushy, knowledgeable and persuasive but not dogmatic.” (David Rosenbaum, New York Times) A staunch Democrat and unabashed liberal, she had strong ties on both sides of the aisle. She was a friend to both the low and the mighty, and was renowned for her grace, candor and integrity. She always relished her role as a lobbyist and enjoyed mentoring others in the profession.

Just 4 feet 11 inches tall and famed for working 15-hour days, Evy visited as many as 30 senators in a day. She said she trudged so many miles around Capitol Hill that she wore out 24 pairs of her size 4 shoes every year. Tireless and an eloquent speaker, she was a powerful voice for labor and for social legislation, including Medicare, school spending and civil rights.

Jerris Leonard, a fellow member of the Senior Council and long-time friend of Evy’s, described her as “…a real fighter in the very best of terms. I first met her when she came to my office (Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice). She was surprised to learn that I had an agenda ready for her and the Leadership Council on Civil rights. It was really very aggressive and she reviewed it for about ten minutes with some of the other members and then said, ‘This is nice, but what are you really going to do for Civil Rights?’ She came to my office on many occasions over the two years I headed the Division, and she always left with ‘Okay, but what are you going to do for us tomorrow?’

Evy was variously called “the leading lady of lobbying” and “the Capitol Hill lobbyist everyone loves.” She worked in Washington under presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower through George W. Bush, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999 by then-president Bill Clinton. Penny Farthing, ALL’s Legal Counsel and a former president, said, “She was a trailblazing woman lobbyist in what was, when she arrived in Washington, an almost exclusively male preserve. She was without a doubt one of the best known lobbyists of all times.”

She attributed her lobbying success to what she called her BAT theory: “I don’t beg,” she said. “I don’t assume I know all the answers, and I don’t threaten .... I’ve always told people, you need better feet than brains to lobby,” adding that a sense of humor, a smile and a nonthreatening manner also helped. Then-ALL President Paul Miller summed it up, “Though sorely missed, Evy left a legacy that we all strive to achieve and that is leading by example. She is the symbol of ethics and honesty we all model our work by.”