Changemaker Entrant Wynona Ward Featured in New Book and PBS Video

August 18, 2008

Wynona Ward, founder of "Have Justice, Will Travel" and a featured entrant in the Changemakers "Ending Abuse in Intimate & Family Relations" competition, is highlighted in a new book "Your America, Democracy's Local Heroes," and in a recent video from the PBS program NOW that you can view here, or purchase as part of a companion DVD.

Wynona Ward

In the book, “Your America,” “NOW on PBS” executive producer John Siceloff and writer Jason Maloney chronicle the stories of 12 ordinary citizens who fought for change and successfully made a difference. In the book, they write:

"The people profiled in Your America are among the hundreds of local heroes whose stories have appeared on the public television show NOW on PBS. As we did our research, two themes emerged. These people embraced activism because of a deeply felt need, a personal mission. And they were determined to scale up because they wanted to help lots of people.

"Wynona Ward didn’t want anybody to endure the abuse that she had suffered. She found a way to help abused women with legal advice and transportation to and from court. She could have kept her activism small scale and personal, driving around in her SUV and working by herself. But she wanted to help more and more women.

"She built Have Justice Will Travel into a major force in Vermont and a national example. She spends half her time fundraising and now has a budget that supports five full-time lawyers. Her group has been able to assist thousands of women.

"For the dozen people who appear in the book, we (the co-authors) went across the country to do new interviews and investigate exactly how they had achieved success. We also asked NOW’s producers and reporters to write first-person accounts about their encounters with these remarkable people. You’ll find their verbal snapshots at the end of each chapter.

"These people began working for change in their communities because they cared passionately about an issue close to their lives. Something wasn’t working, and they wanted to fix it. They became involved.

"All of them share a special quality that’s almost disappeared from public debate. They are authentic. They became involved because they were part of a community that was directly impacted by a problem. These folks didn’t pull into town one day and start telling people what they had to do to improve their lives. They wanted to fix things because they wanted a better world for themselves and their families and others like them. Their causes vary enormously.

"It’s an approach that can work for all of us, in communities across the nation. The local heroes of Your America point the way forward."

Praise for the book "Your America":

"People look at the wreckage in the world and ask, "What can I do?" Here are some answers by people who didn't wait for others to answer it. You will not read their stories without being inspired to act—and that's the beginning of hope for democracy."
- Bill Moyers, journalist and host of Bill Moyers Journal on PBS

"Your America is a wonderful tonic for cynicism and despair. It brims with real life heroes, from scholars to barbers to bureaucrats to businesspeople, who remind us that one determined person can begin to turn the world."
- Scott Simon, journalist and host of Weekend Edition Saturday on NPR

"NOW is a welcome and nutritious addition to the rich menu of choices available on PBS. And, equally important, it is fearless about challenging conventional wisdom, a too rare quality these days."
- Tom Brokaw, journalist and former anchor for NBC Nightly News

"Most of the featured individuals ... are ordinary citizens, and their abilities to devise creative solutions to serious problems and persevere against vastly influential antagonistic interests will inspire and embolden all readers."
- From Publisher's Weekly

"To each participant Siceloff and Maloney posed the question, 'How do you get started if you want to make a difference in America?' The responses are open, honest, inspiring, and even heartbreaking testimonials that cover a range of social issues across the political, social, and economic spectrum."
- From Library Journal

"The writing in Your America is straightforward and has a simple, almost broadcast style that makes for a quick but thoughtful read."
- From Roll Call

About the authors of "Your America":

John Siceloff has been executive producer of NOW on PBS since its launch in 2002. His work for PBS, ABC, NBC and CBS has received the DuPont Award, Peabody Award, and four Emmy Awards. His writing has appeared in the Washington Post. He lives in New York, NY.

Jason Maloney is a news and documentary producer. His work includes reports for NOW on PBS and PBS's NewsHour. He was most recently the editorial producer of "Nuclear Jihad", a documentary on the AQ Kahn network, which won the DuPont Award. He lives in New York City.

Filling the Right Need

by Robert Benedict on August 18, 2008 - 13:35

Wynona Ward is really on to something; its often the "small" logistical things that can separate people from justice. Sometimes we dismiss the practical in favor of the intellectual or just legal, Ms. Ward seems to understand both.