Big Hartman JD'05
2024 Social Justice Scholars Alumni Award Recipient
Big Hartman currently serves as executive director and general counsel at the Vermont Human Rights Commission, a state agency tasked with enforcing Vermont’s anti-discrimination laws.
In 2005, Big (then known as “Abigail Doolittle”) graduated from Vermont Law School, magna cum laude. As a law student, they were active in the National Lawyers Guild, Student Bar Association, and Vermont Law Review. Since graduation, Big has worked in Vermont in the areas of labor and employment law, in private practice, and as in-house counsel at the Vermont State Employees’ Association.
They have served as a volunteer on several boards including the Vermont Association for Justice, the Pride Center of Vermont, Circle of Women International, and the Washington County Bar Association.
In 2017, inspired by the #MeToo movement, they founded a solo law practice called Welcoming Workplaces that was focused on preventing workplace harassment through workplace trainings and management consultations. They started at the Vermont Human Rights Commission as a staff attorney investigator in 2021, and became executive director and general counsel in 2023.
Big has led countless workshops and presentations about topics such as harassment prevention, equity and diversity, bystander intervention, implicit bias, fair housing, and civil rights.