Jerry Hartman retired as a partner at Drinker Biddle in January 2017 where he had maintained an active employment law practice.

In September 2016, Board member Judge Mary Ellen Williams resigned. Greg Castanias, a partner at the Jones Day law firm, where Barbara was a partner was elected in November 2016 to replace Judge Williams by a vote of the Board.

The Foundation received from the 2016 Grantees their year-end reports.

For 2017 the Foundation made grants at its September 2016 annual meeting to five organizations totaling $125,000.

The National Center for Law and Economic Justice (“NCLEJ”) sent a letter to Drinker Biddle on May 31, 2016, thanking Drinker Biddle for its efforts in conjunction with the Barbara McDowell Foundation in a ground-breaking case securing visual aids and assistance for visually impaired individuals seeking to apply for food stamps in New York City.

Children’s Rights which received grants from the Foundation in 2015 and 2016 for its lawsuit, M.D. v. Perry, a case involving abused and neglected children, achieved a significant victory.

Bisnow, a Washington, DC business publication, did a story on the fifth anniversary event celebrating the life and legacy of Barbara McDowell and the pro bono work of Drinker Biddle done to support the Foundation.

On January 21,2016, the Foundation celebrated with a cocktail party the fifth anniversary of the founding of the Foundation and the pro bono efforts of Drinker Biddle undertaken in connection with the support of the Foundation.

The Foundation will be celebrating the fifth anniversary of its founding on January 21, 2016, with a cocktail reception hosted by Drinker Biddle.

The Foundation’s Board of Directors voted at its annual meeting in September 2015 to amend the Foundation’s By-laws to add two additional Board members, Judge Mary Ellen Coster Williams and Doug Hallward-Driemeier.

The Barbara McDowell and Gerald S. Hartman Foundation has selected six organizations for 2016 grants.

Drinker Biddle obtained significant achievements in exposing the unfair treatment of death row prisoners while collaborating with individuals from the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project and counsel from Mississippi.

The Foundation received from the 2015 Grantees their year-end reports.

Foundation provides update on 2016 funding pool.

The Foundation received from the 2015 Grantees their six-month reports.

The Foundation received a report from the Legal Aid Justice Center, a 2012 grantee, giving an update on the case for which it received a grant.

The Foundation has awarded five grants for 2015

The Foundation received 30 applications from prospective grantees for its 2015 awards.

Barbara McDowell served as president of the Shaw Communities Ministry and worked on its college Scholarship program.

Kesiah John-Paul was one of the scholarship students that Barbara supported. With her scholarship assistance, Kesiah attended New York University School of the Arts.

Barbara McDowell’s legacy continues as her contributions at Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia were recognized in a recent Legal Aid blog discussing an important case that Barbara helped Legal Aid to win.