BSL alum Amy Dowdey graduated from Auburn University with a psychology degree. She then worked for Jessie’s Place, the women and children’s division of Jimmy Hale Mission. There she discovered her desire to help underserved populations. She enrolled in Birmingham School of Law in 2008 and graduated in 2011. While in law school, Dowdey worked at Mitchell’s Place, a center for children on the Autism spectrum. Amy never wanted to practice law in a traditional way. She just wanted more education and to find a way to help people. Dowdey thought she would always be in the nonprofit world, but she asked herself, “Do I want this to be my life’s work, or do I want to set myself up financially to be able to help people?” Though she ended up in the for-profit world, as the CEO of a specialty finance company, she finds ways to give back in her free time. She is deeply involved with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. In 2021, the Society named her Woman of the Year for raising $114,000 for the annual campaign, the most ever raised in Alabama.
“You may not know what you want to do but getting your law degree opens up opportunities,” says Dowdey on her current position as CEO of Denali Capital, LLC, a receivable management services provider. Her critical thinking skills, honed during her time at BSL, and her experience with people helped her to find a career she would not have otherwise pursued.
In her free time, Dowdey likes to stay active, running and hiking. She is on the board at Ruffner Mountain and likes to go there to hike regularly. She likes food and travel. Just this year, she has been to DC, Miami, the Bahamas, New York (where she visits often), Wisconsin, and Chicago, and has plans to visit Las Vegas and New Orleans soon.