Bobbie was born in Abbeville, LA, a Creole-speaking town. She attended a segregated high school and graduated valedictorian of her class. As a young married woman she moved to the Northwest, and while raising her children took liberal arts and business courses at University of Washington and Western Washington University.

Bobbie moved to the Northwest living first in Seattle then in Portland. She co-founded The Skanner newspaper while taking journalism courses at Portland State University. She later graduated in Communication with honors, from the University of Portland, and took post-graduate course at City University, Seattle. A lifetime member of the NAACP, Bobbie is an advocate for social justice and created The Skanner to support that mission. During the last 22 years The Skanner Foundation has provided more than half a million dollars to help students attend college.

The paper played a pivotal role in the struggle to rename Union Avenue for Martin Luther King, including going to the Oregon State Supreme Court after the city council’s decision to rename the street was challenged. Bobbie is active in many professional and community organizations including: the National and Portland Associations of Black Journalists, the Association of Women in Communications, Inc., the Urban League, Rotary Club of Albina and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

Bernie and Bobbie Foster have been recognized by many community organizations in Portland. The Oregon Historical Society named them History Makers in 2013. In 2014, Volunteers of America awarded them the Vic Atiyeh Lifetime Achievement Award, for their work on behalf of underserved communities.