Dottie Fitzgerald, Vice President
16 locations in the greater Washington, D.C. region
“You have to stick with something to make a real difference. It’s not about getting something in return—it’s about doing what’s right. When you’re truly committed, that’s when you make a lasting impact.”
For more than half a century, the Fitzgerald Auto Mall brand has been a trusted name in the Washington Metropolitan area, and Vice President Dottie Fitzgerald has been integral to that legacy from the very beginning. The younger sister of founder Jack Fitzgerald, who began selling cars at a Washington, D.C. Ford dealership in the 1950s, Dottie’s journey in the automotive industry began alongside her brother when he opened his first dealership in 1966 in downtown Bethesda.
Dottie was Jack’s first hire, joining the founding team at what would later become Colonial Dodge. From day one, with the support of many dedicated co-workers, Dottie immersed herself in learning every aspect of the business, from answering phones to handling bookkeeping. “If someone doesn’t take the time to teach you, it’s because they don’t have a vested interest in your growth,” she says. “But I was fortunate that, throughout my early career, someone always took the time to mentor me and help me learn the next job.”
A passionate advocate for education, especially for aspiring automotive professionals, she honored the guidance of her mentors by paying it forward. In 1978, she joined and eventually chaired the Montgomery County Students Automotive Trades Foundation (ATF), which gives local high school students hands-on experience in the automotive field, preparing them for successful careers in the industry.
In January 2022, Fitzgerald made a historic transition to employee ownership (ESOP), which Dottie had long championed as a way to ensure the company’s continued success while preserving its commitment to longtime employees.
“With employee ownership and leaders like Rob Smith and David Jenkins—who’ve been with us since they were kids—I have complete faith in the future of the business,” Dottie says. “We’ve always focused on sustainability because we believe deeply in our no-haggle, no-hassle approach to selling cars. The current team has an intuitive understanding of our values, but they’re also young enough to adapt to the changes ahead, like the rise of electric vehicles.”
With day-to-day operations in capable hands, Dottie has shifted her focus to community outreach, strengthening ties with local organizations, public relations and philanthropy. “Jack and I were raised to give back,” she says. “Not with money, because we didn’t have much, but through service.”
One of Fitzgerald’s earliest and most impactful initiatives was its Child Car Seat Inspection Program, launched in 1999 to promote child safety. Since then, the dealership has checked more than 51,000 car seats. ”We started hosting monthly events, and when two children survived a severe crash just a day after attending one of our safety checks, it truly cemented our commitment to the cause.”
Fitzgerald was also an early supporter of “Operation Outreach,” a program that places books in schools to teach students the value of kindness through stories about animals. A lifelong “dog person” and animal lover, Dottie also helped establish Fitzgerald’s longstanding partnership with the Humane Rescue Alliance (HRA), built on a shared dedication to animal welfare and rescuing and rehoming animals. Through this collaboration, now more than a decade old, Dottie has hosted monthly pet adoption events at the dealership that have already placed more than 3,000 pets in forever homes. This year, she is once again supporting HRA, which is launching an innovative program that will address the rising cost of veterinary care by bringing mobile veterinary services to underserved areas. “You have to stick with something to make a real difference,” Dottie says. “It’s not about getting something in return—it’s about doing what’s right. When you’re truly committed, that’s when you make a lasting impact.”
And that’s the FitzWay.
