Duke Dodson’s advice to new Yellow Jackets reflects what he learned during his progression from student to entrepreneur and mentor.

“Don’t be afraid to leverage your RMC connections and relationships to meet new folks in your field or industry,” says Dodson, president of Dodson Property Management, LLC. “Try your best to stay involved with Randolph-Macon however you can. Those connections will pay off.”

Dodson, who grew up in Roanoke, Virginia and has lived in Richmond since 2003, majored in business/economics at RMC, where he played football and baseball and was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He earned his M.B.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University, and after working in the mortgage and financial services industries for several years, he began studying and investing in real estate. In 2007 he founded Dodson Property Management.

“DPM started as a single-family management company, and we now also have a multi-family division and a commercial company that manages office and retail properties,” says Dodson. DPM manages 5,000 rental units throughout Central Virginia and has 115 employees—including Yellow Jackets Tim Wehner ’08 and Steven Quinn ’17.

“I enjoy real estate development,” says Dodson, who in 2017 took on a new venture when he co-founded Gather, a co-working space. Gather’s three locations offer a space where startups, entrepreneurs, and other professionals can work and collaborate.

True to his advice, Dodson stays connected to his alma mater in many ways. “I attend Macon Connections alumni events, football and basketball games, and support the Yellow Jacket Club,” says Dodson, who is also a member of the Board of Associates and the Presidents Society. He also participates in the EDGE Boot Camp by offering students career advice and conducting mock interviews, and each year Dodson Properties hosts one or two RMC student-interns.

“The campus gets better and better every time I visit,” says Dodson. “I think Randolph Macon’s quest to continually improve through new majors and facilities is exciting.” Dodson returns to campus often with his wife Jessica and sons, Tripp and Tucker, to attend athletics events. “Tripp and Tucker are future Yellow Jackets, of course,” he says proudly.