James (Kimo) Williams

James (Kimo) Williams

As a soldier in Vietnam, I would come in from the jungle and play guitar at the service club. This was my main way of coping. My “soldier band,” The Soul Coordinators, played throughout Vietnam, at remote firebases and in hospital wards. Through this, I...
Pam Koner

Pam Koner

I started Family-to-Family in 2002 in response to a New York Times article that described an Illinois community so poor that many houses had dirt floors and children went to bed hungry. Moved by the news piece, and up for a challenge, I got on the phone, called the...
Nani Lee

Nani Lee

In 1998, I left my law practice to pursue a PhD in social work. One of my objectives was to influence policy that affects underprivileged communities. Part of my native Hawai’ian culture is the idea that as an individual, you can have an impact, but the greatest...
Linda M. Kaufman

Linda M. Kaufman

The first homeless person I ever met was at a shelter, where I was volunteering. I drove back to seminary, realizing that the women there were much more like me than different. For the next 20 years, I devoted myself to homeless services, but I saw no reductions in...