Adrian L. Moore

Adrian L. Moore

In April 1999, with 34 years’ experience in juvenile and criminal justice, I attended a conference in Miami, Florida, where along with others, I watched live coverage of the Columbine High School shootings. Two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, killed 18...
Byron Yake

Byron Yake

In 2005, I was newly retired from a 35-year career with the Associated Press and looking to have a second career where I could make a difference and use the broad background I have in journalism, business and sports. A colleague suggested teaching disadvantaged kids...
Karen Kalish

Karen Kalish

When I was 60, in 2005, I was at a community organizing meeting in Los Angeles with organizers from all over the country. Sister Pearl Caeser, an organizer from Texas, was telling us how teachers there were doing home visits with extraordinary results. Reading scores,...
Margaret Lovejoy

Margaret Lovejoy

In 1997, I was the director of an emergency night shelter for homeless families, securing evening lodging for families in church basements. I was very focused on making sure families were well-kept at night, and I doubled the capacity of the program. Each day after...
Dawn M. Blackman Sr.

Dawn M. Blackman Sr.

I was a city girl who had worked in a family catering service and in restaurants, but I did not know a thing about gardening. Then, in 2003, I started gardening with 10 neighborhood children. At the time, I had a dress shop on the footpath between my church and their...