After Hurricane Andrew leveled much of Dade County in 1992, Dorothy Collins Weaver served as federal liaison for We Will Rebuild, a group of civic leaders organizing recovery along the shattered region, one of the most heavily populated areas in the country.
Overseeing $8 billion in federal hurricane aid and coordinating all federal, state, local, for-profit, and nonprofit government flood relief activities, she drew upon the Junior League model of organized, disciplined, trained volunteers who help lead the way by articulating a vision, establishing a model, and setting the standard.
A former President of the Junior League of Miami (and daughter of Dee Dann Collins, a past President of the Junior League of Dallas), Dorothy was hands-on in the massive clean-up and rebuilding effort, working with local officials and organizations as well as the Administration and the Congress to set things right.
But that’s not all of her story. She also worked with other community leaders and officials to rewrite Florida’s banking code to remove an impediment to Miami’s future growth as a world class business and financial center: a state prohibition against intra-state and interstate banking.
Dorothy’s civic leadership led to other roles, including chairmanship of the Federal Reserve Bank of Miami, the Miami Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, and the Governor’s Workforce Education Committee.
She then founded a Miami-based hedge fund-of-funds called Collins Capital Investments (and has received the 100 Women in Hedge Funds Industry Leadership Award by the 100 Women in Hedge Funds organization).
In addition, she and her husband, David, have made a long-standing commitment to the success of a girls’ orphanage in Colombia.