Meet a TwinBridger: Andrea Downing
Andrea and husband on a recent trip to Valencia, Spain.
By Richard Landers
Andrea Downing’s life has taken her far from her upbringing in Cobleskill, New York, but she still returns to the “fresh air and lots of outdoor activities” of Cobleskill as her parents still live there. Andrea, incoming President of Twin Bridges (she takes office July 1), says she “mostly behaved myself” as a youngster, enjoyed school, took French throughout her schooling and wanted to go to France as a Rotary Exchange student. She was sponsored by Cobleskill Rotary.
But lots of students wanted to go to France and when Andrea’s letter of acceptance arrived it unfortunately (or tragically as she thought then) it was for her to go to Spain, not France. “I couldn’t believe it, I moped around.” But she finally realized a second choice was better than nothing and so began a lifelong love of Spain, its culture and its language. Since her exchange student experience, Andrea has gone back to Spain every few years for a total of some eight trips.
“I learned Spanish on top of my French,” she says, and the result is fluency in Spanish but only partial fluency in French—she can still read French with some ability to speak it and a general understanding when someone is speaking to her.
Andrea went to college at SUNY Plattsburgh, majored in political science and met her husband there, then went to law school because “I didn’t know what else to do.” She moved to Washington, DC to go to George Mason Law School and was a law clerk at an employment law firm representing plaintiffs during school. Eventually she was hired full time at the same firm and was there for nine years. Later, she joined the U.S. Health and Human Services Department in Washington. After moving to the Capital District, she joined NYS Parks and Recreation Department, again working as an attorney. “I’m still acting as a lawyer and it’s similar to being in a firm but now the government agency is your client.”
Andrea, who now lives in Ballston Lake with her husband and two daughters, will soon become the President of Twin Bridges only a couple of years after joining. Her Rotary connection started in high school and came up again in 2018 when she joined a Rotary Club in Virginia while at the Washington law firm. She switched to a DC Club after getting the government job.
The international aspect of Rotary appeals greatly to Andrea, “knowing I can help across the world.” She loves to travel and Montreal is a frequent destination in addition to Spain. While around the world, she stops in at Rotary clubs.
Andrea is also a reliable donor to the Rotary Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. Rotary members who make a donation of $1,000 to the Foundation become Paul Harris Fellows and Andrea is now a Paul Harris Fellow Level Four, among the very highest donors in the Club.
Twin Bridges, says Andrea, “is a great group of folks—nice, friendly people who’ve created a very active Club. When you add up everything our Club does—Ronald McDonald House, the holiday breakfast events, Chamber Angels, Thanksgiving baskets, build a bed for kids and deliver them too—we’re always doing something.”
Andrea’s goal for her coming year as President is to “help folks learn more about Rotary International, make sure that every member can participate and find something meaningful to them.” She’d also like to expand membership with some new people. To those reading this profile who might be thinking of joining Twin Bridges, she says, “If you want to help your community, come combine resources with us. If you have an idea, we’ll support it as long as it helps the community.”
Asked to reveal something about herself that might surprise people, Andrea reports that Aerosmith (sometimes known as America’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band) “is my favorite band and I love to go to concerts, especially theirs. I’ve been to several.”
She didn’t mention Twin Bridges sponsoring rock concerts as a fundraiser, but don’t be surprised if Andrea brings some new ideas to the Club!