Dominique Dove knows female veterans face a higher risk of homelessness, and that sexual assault or other trauma often contribute in some way.

“They may not have planned to get out of the military but got out because of the issues they experienced,” says Dove, a captain in the U.S. Army JAG Corps, who has represented survivors of military sexual trauma. “And in transitioning, a lot of times they become homeless.”

“A female veteran is actually two-and-a-half times more likely than any other female to be homeless at some point in her life,” Dove adds, citing data from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Dove herself experienced sexual abuse as a child and homelessness as a young adult, which helped shape her role as an advocate in both her professional and personal lives.

In addition to pushing for equity in the Army, Dove volunteers with organizations that support female veterans. She also raises awareness of issues facing female veterans, including homelessness and sexual trauma, through her participation in pageants. She is reigning Dr. World 2026, which celebrates women with doctoral degrees.

Dove, who lives with her husband Aaron and their daughters Ariana and Diana in Virginia, makes a difference in her community in other ways. This includes quickly becoming a leader in Top Ladies of Distinction, a national community service organization that serves youths and adults.

In addition to working with the organization’s teenage programs, Dove created an initiative to help juvenile offenders expunge their records, says J. Allison Riley, the president of its Dale City-Prince William County Chapter.

“She comes into everything with such energy and such light,” says Riley, adding that Dove is one of the younger members. “And she gets us energized, right? She brings these ideas that we didn’t think of because of her age and because of her experience in life.”

Dove knew that she wanted to help people who experienced what she experienced when she was just a child.

“I was abused growing up, sexually and physically, and it started at a very young age,” Dove says. “That is the reason why, at like the age of 6, I knew I was going to be an attorney.”

Born in Virginia, Dove moved during grade school to Wiesbaden, Germany, where her mom was stationed with the Army. They went back and forth between the United States and Germany, where Dove attended high school. After graduating, she went to Old Dominion University and studied sociology.

It wasn’t an easy time, says Dove, who put herself through college. She worked full time while taking night courses, and after realizing that she still couldn’t afford a place to live, she began sleeping in her car. She usually parked in a naval base parking lot because she says it felt safer.

“I would turn the car on until I couldn’t stay up any longer, and then I would turn the car off, and I would go to sleep,” Dove says. “I would get up in the morning, go to the gym on base and take my shower and then go to work and school.”

Dove eventually took a break from college. She worked two jobs to catch up on bills and moved into an apartment. When she returned to Old Dominion, she decided to join the Army to help fund the rest of her education.

While working as a human resources officer, Dove graduated in 2012 and enrolled at the Liberty University School of Law.

“I worked one weekend a month because I was in the Army Reserve,” Dove says. “I did that while I went to law school, but the Army kept giving me better jobs, better opportunities. And now it’s 16-and-½ years later, and I’m still here.”

Dove, a 2015 law school graduate, now serves on active duty. In 2021, she joined the Army JAG Corps, where in her role as a government appellate attorney, she argued and won three cases at the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. In August, she started a new job as a trial defense service attorney.

While in college, Dove volunteered as a sexual assault advocate with the YWCA. She took crisis calls from people who were abused and sat with survivors during hospital examinations or court proceedings.

As an attorney, Dove has handled pro bono cases for soldiers who were dishonorably discharged because of mental health issues related to sexual trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder.
 

Dove expanded her advocacy after having her first daughter in 2019 and gaining insight into the challenges experienced by pregnant and postpartum women in the military. In one instance, she remembers working on a project in the field and being told to pump in her vehicle. She also discovered women in the reserve didn’t officially receive maternity leave.

“I thought, ‘Wow, I’m a captain, and I’m going through this,’” Dove says. “What are junior-enlisted soldiers going through?”

Over the next couple of years, Dove helped write and implement Army Directive 2022-06, which updated many of the military branch’s parenthood policies. Among its changes, the directive provides maternity pay to reservists and allows postpartum mothers and adoptive parents to be nondeployable for a year.

“Those two things were really important to me,” Dove says. “But in all, [the directive] was a big deal. It applies to the entire Army, and any given day, there are over 400,000 soldiers who are either pregnant or just had a baby.”

Kelly Quinn, a nurse and colonel in the Army Reserve who worked on the directive, says Dove brought much-needed legal expertise to the table. She also brought her commitment to ensuring that the Army takes care of its soldiers, which Quinn says was and still is equally invaluable.

“She had a lot of struggles personally but used those past experiences to grow as a person,” Quinn says. “She really advocates for soldiers because she doesn’t want other people to end up in a bad place.”

Around the same time, Dove began supporting military members who experienced homelessness.

She became interested in pageants and similar competitions when she learned about Ms. Veteran America, which directs its proceeds to a nonprofit organization called Final Salute that provides housing to homeless female veterans. In 2022, she placed in the top 10 and began volunteering with the organization.

Dove discovered another pageant company called Dr. World Productions that allowed her to choose her own platform. Now as Dr. World 2026—and previously as Dr. America—she drafts and promotes proposals to help ease military members’ transition to civilian life. She also aims to expand the definition of homelessness, so it includes couch surfing.

Dove, who was recognized with the ABA Young Lawyers Division’s On the Rise Award in 2024, also volunteers with Beneath the Service, a nonprofit that helps veterans reintegrate into their communities. 

Among other recent achievements, Dove received her LLM in national security and cybersecurity law from the George Washington University Law School in May. As part of the program, she studied at the University of Oxford.

“I did everything initially to heal from what I’ve experienced and to try to be that voice, that advocate I never had,” Dove says. “But now, I have two girls, and I’m showing them what it’s like to be an advocate and to be a pillar in the community.”

Members Who Inspire is an ABA Journal series profiling exceptional ABA members. If you know members who do unique and important work, you can nominate them for this series by emailing [email protected].