Marie Walters Dodd (1936- ) was born to William Horace Walters and Ottis Arnold Walters (1913-1990). She attended public school in Atlanta and graduated from Georgia State University (where she earned a Distinguished Alumni Award) and Atlanta College of Art (later called the Savannah College of Art and Design’s Atlanta campus). Afterward, she worked at the Atlanta Rotary Club, the American Red Cross, Emory University, and the Atlanta Historical Society. A successful fundraiser, she raised over $15 million dollars for the Northwest Georgia Girl Scout Council and co-chaired a campaign that raised $15 million dollars to build the Atlanta History Center museum in 1993. Mayor Maynard Jackson appointed her to the Corporation for the Olympic Development of Atlanta prior to the 1996 Olympic games. Between 1981 and 1982, Dodd served as the first female chair on the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. In addition, she served as a member of the Board of Directors and Vice President of the Ivan Allen Company until retiring 1995. After moving to St. Simons Island, she continued community work as president of the Coastal Georgia Historical Society and as a member on the Board of Trustees at the Coastal College of Georgia Foundation. She married James L. Dodd Jr. (1924-2000) they have two daughters and four grandchildren.