Dates

• Usage: 1924 - 2022

Biography

Genevieve “Denny” Dudley was born in Sigourney, Iowa and later grew up in Davenport, Iowa. Dudley continued her education at Iowa State University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in Institutional Management with a minor in English. While attending Iowa State, Dudley was heavily involved in extracurricular activities including her leadership positions as chair of Veishea (a large spring celebration at Iowa State), president of her sorority (Gamma Phi Beta) and president of the Women’s Panhellenic.

Dudley initially became interested in volunteer work while working with community schools, churches, and local agencies in Red Oak, Iowa and Summit, New Jersey. While in Summit, Dudley chaired the study for the Summit Lay Committee on Education and wrote a report titled, “The Role of the Volunteer in the Schools.” Due to her previous volunteer work and research, Dudley was offered a position after interviewing at Bell Labs (Bell Telephone Laboratories), AT&T’s research center, as the coordinator for Volunteers in Action, a community relations program. Starting in 1969, Denny Dudley worked in several public relations positions for Bell Labs, including researching and writing for Bell Labs News and as an editor to Perspective, a management newsletter. These roles tested her skills as both a writer and communicator. She also created and coordinated several programs including Bell Labs Science Program, a program that brought young black students from nearby schools to learn about the expertise of scientists, as well as other community-related projects such as the Bell Labs/YMCA seminar.

In the 1980s, several key events affected her career including the Union Certification Effort at Merrimack Valley (1981) and the Bell System Breakup (1984), which were both events that involved increased efforts in public relations. Her work evolved to working closely with AT&T top management in Europe (from London to Rome) in the late 1980s. Up to retirement, Dudley also worked closely in outreach and communication to employees through several efforts and programs including the Face-to-Face program, which Dudley launched in the early 1980s to improve relations between employers and top management through in-person meetings. Additionally, her writing skills continued to aid her as a columnist for Datavision, a bimonthly employee newsletter.

Dudley retired in 1989 from AT&T-Bell Labs after 20 years. After retirement, Denny Dudley and her husband settled in Iowa City where she continued her community involvement in several organizations including the Hancher Guild (president, 1995-1996), the Nineteenth Century Club (president, 2004-2005), and the Congregational Church, United Church of Christ.

She married Homer Dudley and has one daughter, two sons, and 2 grandsons.

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