January 12, 2011: Dorothy Cotton is a civil rights activist, lecturer, educator and writer. For many years she held the position of Education Director for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The only female member of his executive staff, Dorothy became one of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s closest confidantes. 

While at SCLC, Dorothy ran the Citizenship Education Program, training the disenfranchised on the importance of political participation, voter registration, and nonviolent protest. Dorothy continued at the SCLC after Dr. King's assassination in 1968 and later became Southern Regional Director for ACTION, the federal agency for volunteer programs. She also worked briefly at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for NonViolent Change. After more than two decades of intense involvement in civil rights activities, Dorothy dedicated ten years to Cornell University, serving as Director of Student Activities. She is the inspiration behind the Dorothy Cotton Insititute, an internationally renowned education and resource center which develops and trains leaders for a global human rights movement.

Kirby Edmonds is a program coordinator and Senior Fellow for the Dorothy Cotton Institute. In this capacity he manages and delivers programs on human rights education to public school educators and community outh workers. He is also the managing partner of TFC (Training for Change) Associates, a human relations training and consulting firm based in Ithaca, New York.

January 12, 2011: Dorothy Cotton is a civil rights activist, lecturer, educator and writer. For many years she held the position of Education Director for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The only female member of his executive staff, Dorothy became one of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s closest confidantes. 

While at SCLC, Dorothy ran the Citizenship Education Program, training the disenfranchised on the importance of political participation, voter registration, and nonviolent protest. Dorothy continued at the SCLC after Dr. King's assassination in 1968 and later became Southern Regional Director for ACTION, the federal agency for volunteer programs. She also worked briefly at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for NonViolent Change. After more than two decades of intense involvement in civil rights activities, Dorothy dedicated ten years to Cornell University, serving as Director of Student Activities. She is the inspiration behind the Dorothy Cotton Insititute, an internationally renowned education and resource center which develops and trains leaders for a global human rights movement.

Kirby Edmonds is a program coordinator and Senior Fellow for the Dorothy Cotton Institute. In this capacity he manages and delivers programs on human rights education to public school educators and community outh workers. He is also the managing partner of TFC (Training for Change) Associates, a human relations training and consulting firm based in Ithaca, New York.