She competed in her first United States Women's National Championships in the spring of 1959, representing Vesper Boat Club where she was managed by Hall of Fame Coach Mary Freeman Kelly.

She went on to be a leading member of Vesper when they clinched their first high point award at the 1961 United States Women's National Championships; the same year, Doerr set a world record in the 100 m butterfly.

[2] She represented the United States as a 15-year-old at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, where she swam the butterfly leg for the gold medal-winning U.S. team in the preliminary round of the 4×100-meter freestyle relay.

[4] She continued to compete as a swimmer after the Olympics, representing the Vesper Boat Club, at the National AAU Women's Outdoor Championships into August 1962, swimming a 1:09.4 in her signature event, the 100-meter butterfly but taking fourth in a highly competitive field, where the winner, Mary Stewart set a new world record.

It was at the University of Pennsylvania where she met her husband John Brodsky, a graduate student in urban planning, whom she married in June 1970, and then moved to New York City.