Duby McDowell made a name for herself in the Hartford region as a local TV political reporter, but it’s during her second act as president of a strategic communications firm that she’s had the most impact.
The firm she founded 15 years ago, McDowell Communications Group, provides media strategy and has played a role in numerous important business projects in Hartford and legislative issues at the state Capitol (not to mention helping to elect Gov. Ned Lamont).
She also established the influential media blog, The Laurel, which is the go-to source for news about Connecticut journalism.
McDowell still provides on-air political analysis for her former TV station WFSB. In 2020, Channel 3 asked her to return to host the Sunday interview program “Face the State,” but when the state hired her firm to handle communications for the vaccine rollout, she had to step aside from the TV role to avoid conflicts of interest.
McDowell has served on numerous nonprofit boards and co-founded the Hartford Region YWCA’s “In the Company of Women” luncheon. Twenty-five years later it’s one of the area’s most successful fundraising events and draws 1,500 attendees.