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Abby Dobson

Abby Dobson

Keynote Speaker: Sonic Conceptual Artist, Activist & Scholar

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    Live Event Fee: Below $10,000
    Virtual Event Fee: Below $10,000
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Abby Dobson Biography

A Sonic Conceptualist Performing Artist and Composer, Activist and Scholar, Abby Dobson is Artist-in-Residence with the African American Policy Forum (AAPF) co-founded and led by noted legal scholar and activist, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw. Abby Dobson has performed at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Apollo Theater, Blue Note Jazz Club, Joe's Pub, Queens Museum, New Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Hammer Museum, S.O.B.’s, Park Avenue Armory and The Tonight Show.

Dobson’s sound is the alchemy of R&B/Soul, jazz, classic pop, classical, gospel, blues and folk, forging a gem that erases musical boundaries. Her debut CD, "Sleeping Beauty: You Are the One You Have Been Waiting On” was released to rave reviews. Featured on Talib Kweli’s album “Gravitas” on “State of Grace”, Dobson was nominated for a 2014 BET Hip Hop Award for Best Impact Song. Dobson has also lent backing vocals to artists ranging from John Legend to Talib Kweli. Accompanied by her band or acoustic ensemble, Dobson has opened concerts for Gregory Porter, Ledisi, Rahsaan Patterson, Floetry, Kindred, Eric Roberson and Leela James. Dobson performs with Burnt Sugar: The Arkestra Chamber, a 20-plus member ensemble known for improvisatory orchestral performances that combine all manner of vocal, instrumental and electronic music, led by founder and conductor Greg Tate. Dobson is also a member of the Resistance Revival Chorus (RRC), born out of the Women’s March. RRC’s debut album, "This Joy," is scheduled to be released in October 2020 on Righteous Babe records and will include Dobson's song #SayHerName, which was inspired by The African American Policy Forum’s #SayHerName campaign. Dobson also recently founded the Freedom Now Sonic Ensemble, an acapella vocal ensemble.

Dobson was a 2017 Create Change Fellow with The Laundromat Project and performs with Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter. Recently, Dobson was commissioned by The Laundromat Project in conjunction with Park Avenue Armory’s Symposium: Culture in a Changing America and launch of 100 Years | 100 Women, an initiative celebrating the 100 year anniversary of women’s suffrage in the U.S. Dobson is developing this commissioned work, a multi-media performance piece entitled “Sister Outsider: A Remembering and Declaration of These Self Evident Truths … We Be Black, We Be Woman, We Be Human”.

Dobson currently serves as President of the National Organization for Women-New York City Chapter (NOW-NYC) and is an Advisory Board Member of The Other Side, a theater-based global drama exchange program for girls. As a teaching artist, Dobson develops and/or facilitates arts-based workshops for victims of sex trafficking, activists, artists, and formerly incarcerated Black women and girls. Dobson is committed to shining her artistic light – having volunteered in service of countless programs, including Upward Bound, The Brotherhood SisterSol, Bronx Community College and The Lower Eastside Girl’s Club, to name a few.

Dobson received a Juris Doctorate degree from Georgetown University Law Center and a Bachelor’s degree from Williams College in Political Science and History, before accepting her artists’ calling. Passionate about using music as a tool for empathy cultivation, Dobson creates music to inspire audiences to engage in action to promote transformative social change. Abby Dobson’s hope is to move and inspire you to feel deeply through the power of music. She credits her lived experiences as a performing, recording and touring artist with sparking a deep interest in scholarship that speaks to the experiences of Black female artists as culture workers and knowledge producers.

Currently a M.A. candidate in Political Science at the Graduate Center-CUNY, Dobson is an independent scholar whose research interests focus primarily on Black feminist political thought and praxis; the connection between art and politics; and the intersections of race, gender and class in the imagination, consumption, production, promotion and distribution of music and the impact of those intersections on citizenship. Dobson’s essay “From Baldwin to Beyoncé: Exploring the Responsibility of the Artist in Society--- Re-envisioning the Black Female Sonic Artist as Citizen” appears in African American Arts: Activism, Aesthetics, and Futurity (The Griot Project Book Series), published by Rutgers University Press in December 2019. Abby Dobson is also currently working on “Sister Outsider: A (Re)membering,” an album slated for release in September 2021.

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Abby Dobson Videos

"Sister Outsider" by Abby Dobson—100 Years | 100 Women
#SayHerName NYU: Cherrell Brown & Abby Dobson

How do I book Abby Dobson to speak at my event?

Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Abby Dobson for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Abby Dobson, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Abby Dobson or any other speaker of your choice.

How much does it cost to book Abby Dobson for a speaking engagement?

Speaking fees for Abby Dobson, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Abby Dobson are Below $10,000 for live events and Below $10,000 for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Abby Dobson, click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.

What topics does Abby Dobson speak about?

Abby Dobson is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Music, Diversity, Empowerment, Civil Rights, Social Activism, Feminism, Social Justice and Culture.

Where does Abby Dobson travel from?

Abby Dobson generally travels from Baldwin, NY, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances.

Who is the agent for Abby Dobson?

AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully secured keynote speakers like Abby Dobson for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Abby Dobson for your next private or corporate function.

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AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Abby Dobson or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.

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If you’re looking for the best speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.


Abby Dobson is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics including Music, Diversity and Empowerment. The estimated speaking fee range to book Abby Dobson for live events is Below $10,000, and for virtual events Below $10,000. Abby Dobson generally travels from Baldwin, NY, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Kimberlé Crenshaw, Angela Davis and Gabes Torres. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Abby Dobson for an upcoming event.

Abby Dobson Videos

"Sister Outsider" by Abby Dobson—100 Years | 100 Women
#SayHerName NYU: Cherrell Brown & Abby Dobson
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