Rosalind (Silverman) Andrews Oral History

Rosalind Andrews (then Rosalind Silverman) was born in 1943 and grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens. She graduated from Bryant High School and in 1960 started attending Queens College night classes while working during the day. After a year she matriculated fully into the College. As a Queens College student, Andrews became involved in the Student Help Project, tutoring school children in Jamaica, Queens and Prince Edward County, Virginia. She also attended the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 on the way back from Virginia to New York. In 1965 she graduated with a major in History and a minor in Education. At 22 years of age Andrews lived in India for 9 months with her husband who had received a Fulbright. Upon returning to the U.S. she taught history for three years at Long Island City High School in Queens. Andrews then moved to Washington D.C. and obtained her Master’s degree in Psychology from Catholic University in 1972. She went on to become a United States probation officer, supervising people convicted of federal crimes, writing pre-sentencing reports, and making recommendations for sentencing. She was only the fifth woman in the country to be promoted to Supervising U.S. Probation Officer. After spending two years at the Administrative Office of the Federal Courts as a Programs Specialist, she became the Chief U.S. Probation Officer for the Eastern District of Tennessee. At the time she was only the second woman to be appointed as a Chief. During her tenure she received the Director's Award for Outstanding Leadership. Andrews retired from her career as a probation officer in 2000; since then she has been working as a mitigation specialist on death penalty cases.