On October 6, 2017, I was humbled to be presented as the Girls, Inc., BOLD honoree. Each year, this fine organization dedicated to inspiring girls to be strong, smart, and bold through direct service and advocacy honors women leaders. This year, it was truly my honor to be considered in the same class as Ginger Gray, Sharrie Harlan, and Naomi Carter. What extraordinary women with whom to be included.

I’m really proud to be affiliated with Girls, Inc.  Girls who are inspired to be strong live their own lives and make their own choices. Girls who are inspired to be smart have an advantage in life and career, allowing them to chose their own paths. And girls who are inspired to be bold stand up for themselves, use their voices, and insist on being heard.

The world benefits from girls who grow into women who are strong, smart, and bold. And that’s what Girls, Inc., strives to do. We should all thank them for that. I work hard every day to be the example Girls, Inc., has credited me with being.

So, for a little horn-tootin’ – here’s what Mayor Dave Snow had to say about me that night:

Amy graduated from Earlham College with a bachelor of arts degree in English and French literature and from IU McKinney School of Law with a doctor of jurisprudence degree. She has been practicing law in Richmond ever since.

Thanks to a culture of servant leadership built into Earlham’s curriculum, Amy has been active in the Richmond area community from the beginning of her professional career. Currently, she is Vice Chair of the Wayne County Foundation, having served on that board since 2013 (and has been secretary). She has served on the board of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra for thirteen consecutive years, having been secretary, president, and is the current chair of the Artistic Advisory Committee. She was part of the group that founded the Richmond Community Orchestra in 2008, having served as president for six years and currently acts as vice president. (She also plays in the flute section.) She has been a member of the Earlham College Community Partnership Council since 2005.

Amy has served on many boards over the years; as president of the Richmond Gymnastics Training Center, as secretary and vice-chair of the Earlham College Alumni Council, as vice-president for Birth-to-Five, and as a board member to Richmond-Wayne County Chamber of Commerce and the Whitewater Valley United Way.  She has served as a study buddy, and on Election day she volunteers her time to assist in voter protection when prospective voters face being turned away at the ballot box.

She started early serving the legal profession as a whole, as well. She has been a member of the Indiana Supreme Court’s Committee on Character and Fitness since 2003. In 2005, she began a long tenure in leadership at the Indiana State Bar Association, as follows: Board of Governors district representative; Counsel to the president; Treasurer; Annual Meeting Chair; Chair of the Legal Ethics Committee; Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee; Chair of the Leadership Development Academy; and current Chair of the House of Delegates. She has also served on the Member and Member Benefits Committee and the Women in the Law Committee. She has volunteered with the ISBA’s Mentor Match program, which provides curriculum-based mentoring to young attorneys.

In addition, Amy has been on the board of the Indiana Bar Foundation since 2012, having served as secretary and is currently president-elect. She also served on the Indiana Pro Bono Commission and the District 9 Pro Bono Commission, having served as president.

And on top of all that, Amy runs a successful law firm which currently employs four people, having hung out her own shingle in 2010 after ten years of much appreciated mentoring and guidance working for Jeff Arnold and then Allen Wellman McNew. She was selected as a Super Lawyer in 2012 and has been renamed for that designation every year since.

Amy puts her money where her mouth is, too. Over the years, she has sponsored local nonprofits to the tune of nearly $100,000 to date. Beneficiaries include: Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Civic Theatre, Wayne County Foundation’s Women’s Fund, Cope Environmental Center, Girls, Inc., Whitewater Valley Pro Bono, Richmond Evening Optimists, Help the Animals, and the Richmond Art Museum. In fact, when Amy married her husband Andy in 2015, they created a donor-advised arts fund at the Wayne County Foundation for friends and family to donate funds that would otherwise have been spent on wedding gifts. Amy and Andy continue to contribute regularly to that fund and celebrate their anniversary by giving a gift to a local arts organization with an eye towards supporting the production of contemporary works as well as old favorites produced in new and progressive ways.

And just this week, Amy moved her law firm Amy Noe Law, now known as Dudas Law, downtown where she purchased a building with plans to play an active role in Richmond’s downtown revitalization. She and husband Andy have recently formed the Dudas Inspiration Venue for the Arts, or DIVA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a flexible open venue for the exhibition and performance of any art form and fostering an inclusive collaborative environment of inspiration and creation. After significant building renovations, they hope to have DIVA up and running soon for the benefit of the artist in all of us.