2024 Alumni Awards Profiles

Kathleen DuBois ’74

Reunion: 50th
Residence: St. Louis, Missouri
Grinnell major: English Literature
Other degrees: JD from University of Arizona College of Law (1987)
Profession: Retired public interest attorney

3 ways Kathleen embodies Grinnell College’s mission of lifetime learning and service

For more than 20 years, Kathleen provided free legal representation to indigent parents whose children had been removed from their care and placed in foster care. In the course of her work, she reunited more than 400 children with their parents.
In 1999, she organized the Parental Justice Program in St. Louis as a prototype for holistic support services for members of families in crisis. The populations served by the program includes teenage parents, survivors of domestic abuse, and those whose lives have been affected by substance abuse or mental health problems..
As a liaison with the administration of the St. Louis County Family Court as well as with the state child welfare department and other agencies, Kathleen executed strategies for collaboration and community involvement.

Something you probably didn’t know about Kathleen

She was recruited in 2005 to teach college level paralegal classes to adults entering the legal field as legal assistants. Many of her best students ended up obtaining paralegal positions. Kathleen went on to teach traditional law courses at St. Louis Community College at Meramec in Evidence, Criminal Law/Procedure, Advanced Civil Trial Procedure, and Environmental Law.

A collage of photos featuring Kathleen DuBois ’74

Bonus Kathleen Fun Facts

In 2005, Kathleen was honored with the St. Louis Women Lawyers’ Association President’s Award for her work representing women in their efforts to keep their families together.
In 2011, the Missouri Bar Association appointed her to serve on a statewide Special Committee on Adoption.
Kathleen has taken part in the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic Violence since 1999.

A quote about Kathleen

“Through more than 35 years until her recent retirement, Kathleen has practiced public interest law in Arizona and Missouri, representing hundreds of indigent clients in trial and on appeal – including Hurricane Katrina victims, mothers and fathers facing loss of their children, inmates on death row, and, for example, a young man who was prosecuted for killing his mother’s batterer.”

– Christopher Broadwell ’74