Public Policy Professor

From a distant perspective, it might appear that she has had two separate careers but focusing on serving others is the common thread within all her career interests.

CHILDHOOD

Anne S. Douds (“AD”) was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 1970s.

EDUCATION

AD grew up at a place and time central to social movements involving civil rights and racial integration. One of the most visible points of integration was within the schools of the South. AD attended one of the first fully integrated elementary schools in Atlanta, where she also had a front row seat to activists coalescing to fight for civil rights.

“I felt like I was in this sort of incubator for activism since I was a little kid,” recalled AD. 

With this upbringing, AD felt an early connection to politics. She majored in political science at Duke University. 

FIRST ADULT JOBS ARE NEVER A BINDING CAREER COMMITMENT

Following college graduation, AD took a job on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., as a legislative correspondent. Soon, she realized that she was more passionate about constituent services and working directly with individuals on a grassroots level, which led her toward a legal career. 

FIRST CAREER – IN COURTROOMS AS AN ‘IMPACT’ LITIGATOR, THEN A JUDGE

“Based on my childhood experiences with a variety of civil rights issues, I knew that I wanted to pursue what we now call “impact litigation,” where you’re using the law to achieve social change,” AD has said. 

While enrolled at the Emory University School of Law, AD worked a myriad of jobs, including clerking for a law firm and serving as an intern at a legal clinic for the homeless. Her last job in Atlanta was working in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the asset forfeiture division. 

Having met and married her husband, a Marine fighter pilot, the newly married couple moved to Florida, where he was stationed, and AD took a job at a law firm involving cases assigned by insurance companies to represent – and defend – their insureds. “It took me a little time to figure out that was not a good fit for me,” AD explained. “I prefer to be on the plaintiff (claimant) side of things and (represent) people who had been wronged.”

AD’s next relocation was to an air base in South Carolina, which brought her closer to her passion: representing claimants in civil cases such as defective construction plus child custody battles and criminal cases including defense of death penalty issues. 

While in South Carolina, AD served three years as a probate court judge, often having to decide which alleged facts were credible and how to apply the law in litigation involving issues such as contested wills and administration of decedents’ estates. 

RETHINKING THE CURRENT CAREER PATH

“I definitely saw the direct impact of what I did (as a courtroom lawyer and as a judge),” said AD. “But it’s hard to keep up that level of energy and passion without having it impact you as well.”

At home, AD and her husband decided to start a family, giving birth to a son, and adopting another while her husband was deployed with the Marines overseas for months at a time. 

AD then took a step back from her career path within the legal profession to focus on her family and felt an urge to get to the root of the problems she saw repeatedly during her law career. 

A NEW CAREER PATH MAY REQUIRE ADDITIONAL EDUCATION

Pursuing a doctorate in public policy felt like the right next step for AD. Since her husband’s career path required the couple to relocate to Washington, D.C., AD enrolled in a graduate program for public policy at George Mason University. During and after earning her doctorate, AD consulted for many government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice. 

SECOND CAREER – EDUCATOR IN PUBLIC POLICY

After receiving her doctorate, AD and her husband considered another move. They searched for a close-knit community near D.C. with a solid school district and support for their adopted son who has special needs. The town of Gettysburg ‘checked all the boxes’ and they relocated to the area of a famous Civil War battle while AD continued to work in D.C. and as a lecturer in the local area – until she heard about an open teaching position in the Public Policy Department at Gettysburg College, where she was hired, first as an Adjunct Professor, now fully tenured. Her title was unimportant to AD because as she notes, “I’ve always loved teaching.”

Soon AD was named Chair of the Public Policy department and became the faculty lead for the Eisenhower Institute’s Women and Leadership program. 

CAREER SATISFACTION

AD has received faculty awards and co-authored published articles with students. 

She works with local organizations like Adams County Children’s Advocacy Center and sponsors refugees. Although she’s no longer a practicing attorney, AD still does ‘pro-bono’ (free) consulting work for nonprofit organizations.  

After 30 years, AD feels empowered to have discovered a second career she’s passionate about. “There’s no question in my mind anymore about what I want to do,” she said. “I’ve joked saying it’s my midlife crisis. But no, it’s my midlife celebration.”

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This career story of Gettysburg College Professor Anne S. Douds is based on an article written by Phoebe Doscher, published in the Gettysburg College Magazine, Winter 2023 edition.