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Shafer Leadership Academy program helped Dorica Young-Watson find her voice. The kids in Dorica Young-Watson’s third-grade class excitedly shared their costumes for the school Halloween parade, a highlight of Young-Watson’s year. “I’m going to be Wonder Woman,” she announced, proudly. “You can’t be Wonder Woman,” a boy stated, matter-of-factly. “Wonder…

Like many people who live in the community they grew up in, Jeff Robinson had a lot of ideas for what Muncie needed. He got involved any way he knew how, serving on committees and taking on leadership roles in local organizations. But in 2018, he started wondering whether it…

Suzanne Clem is in the business of listening. As director of Community Awareness at Open Door Health Services, Clem connects with neighbors about their needs related to healthcare and access. She hears what makes them feel valued and safe, then she works with leaders at Open Door to build those…

Emery Peck thought he knew what his passion was. He enjoyed working with kids. As a teenager, it had made him a popular babysitter. As a preschool teacher at the YMCA, he got to educate children and share his love of art with them. It was meaningful work, but it…

When the Whitely Community Council (WCC) transitioned from being a volunteer-led neighborhood association to an organization headed by an executive director and board, everyone braced for culture shock. Since 1966, Muncie’s Whitely neighborhood has been a model of progressive resident advocacy. What began as a small group of residents meeting…

You wake up in a room locked from inside and out. Beside you is a ticking bomb and a landline phone. You can’t get out. No one can get in. You can call the bomb squad, but if you can’t defuse the bomb, you and everyone in the building are…