Community Corner

Occoquan Has One Of Virginia's Most Influential Women

Betty Dean has been named to the prestigious list by the Virginia Lawyers Weekly magazine. She's a fundraising machine for the community and her job.

Occoquan resident Betty Dean knows how to raise a dime or two for causes she believes in. Her dedication to those with disabilities, the arts and the environment is unparallelled in the community.

For that, she is one of the most "Influential Women of Virginia."

Each year the Virginia Lawyers Weekly magazine chooses 50 women in the state who are great achievers and cherished in each of the communities in which they live. Dean is vice president of communications and development for Didlake, a company that is dedicated to enriching the lives of people with disabilities. Dean is in charge of outreach and fundraising efforts. Her personable smile and kind approach can easily charm someone into opening their wallet or writing a check. In May she will find out if she was chosen as the best of the best during the magazine's annual event.

Find out what's happening in Lake Ridge-Occoquanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Dean, 51, almost missed the message that she was nominated to the list. Dean said her friend, Jean Kellogg, told her that she had nominated her for the award. Later, Dean had received an email that she thought was just confirming what Kellogg told her. Dean luckily went back to the email and read it again, which is when she realized she actually is one of the state's most influential women.

“I was delighted," said Dean during an interview this week. "It is always a thrill when someone recognizes you for what you do."

Find out what's happening in Lake Ridge-Occoquanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Kellogg, the executive director of the Hylton Performing Arts Center and a former Virginia Lawyers Weekly "Influential Women of Virginia" nominee, thought Dean was an easy choice. Kellogg said Dean has raised a bunch of money for the arts center. She admires Dean's ability to engage people, saying she is a wonderful addition to the community.

"Betty is just a phenomenal person, not only in what she does for the clients at Didlake and the fundraising she does for them, but she is involved in so many aspects of community volunteerism," Kellogg said. 

Dean said she is using this opportunity to promote Didlake and the work the company does for those with disabilities. Her background is in corporate marketing and her first jobs were with large financial institutions, where the goal was to make money for shareholders. Then she got married in 2000 to her husband, Barry, a retired Air Force officer and former Occoquan Town Council member. She said he opened the world to her and showed her how rewarding it can be to contribute to the wellbeing of the community.

"My whole motivation for getting up and getting to work in the morning changed, and it is so rewarding to go to work everyday and know that hopefully your work is making a difference in the lives of people who [have disabilities]," she said. "It suddenly occurred to me that maybe I can do some of that stuff to. I started to get  a lot more engaged and active in my community. My whole world kind of grew. Once you start stepping up volunteering for things, there are a lot of people who are pretty anxious to have your services when it is known you are willing to jump in."

Dean said she enjoys the tight-knit community in Occoquan. Not only is she a fundraising machine, but she's also helped the town with ensuring the survivability and health of the Occoquan River and guiding the town through the 400th Anniversary of Jamestown. She helped create the first town gala as a fundraiser for the Occoquan Historical Society, which is in its fifth year.

"It was a really successful event and I think the people in the town really enjoyed it," Dean said.  "We are now called the Gala Girls because we do the town gala every year."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Lake Ridge-Occoquan