New Vision - November 2009 (Getting Personal)

In This Section

LAANE Advisory Boardmember Barbara Maynard Finds Inspiration in People’s Every Day Battles

maynardEDT

Barbara Maynard’s intense energy and passion for justice has made her firm, Maynard Consulting Services, the “go to” place in Southern California for progressive campaigns. But Barbara is not content merely to build her thriving business, which provides communication and strategic campaign services to the region’s major labor unions, environmental organizations, educational institutions and economic justice coalitions. She also finds time to build houses in Mexico, to help start a new L.A. think tank, and for her greatest passion – her young daughter.

How did you first get involved with economic justice issues?

From 1994 to 1997, I was L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina’s budget deputy and it was a really eye-opening experience. The services that California counties provide – indigent healthcare, welfare, juvenile rehabilitation, social services for abused and neglected children, and more – are largely hidden from public view and my new vantage point radically changed my perspective on life. I developed a passion for protecting these vital services and a commitment to fighting for the dedicated men and women who provide them.

How did you first get involved with LAANE?

In 2002, I worked closely with LAANE on behalf of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 in the campaign to stop Wal-Mart in Inglewood (we won!). The partnership continued through the 2003-04 Southern California supermarket strike (it was grueling), and most recently we have been working together to rid the region of 16,800 dirty diesel trucks servicing the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach (the fight goes on). Our work together has dramatically broadened my vision of activism to include community, faith-based, and environmental organizing – hallmarks of nearly every campaign with which I am now involved.

What other organizations are you involved with?

I am a founding board member of the Horizon Institute, a new L.A.-based think tank, Vice President of the Miguel Contreras Foundation, and actively involved in my kindergarten daughter’s school.

How does your role as a mother affect your work on social change?

In the months before leaving for Kazakhstan in 2005 to adopt my daughter, many a colleague speculated on how becoming a mother would impact my passion for social justice. Looking back, I think I had concerns, too, particularly as a business owner and single parent. Becoming a mom has surprised me. My passions are much deeper because now I am fighting for her future, and my work has become more about building bridges than creating wedges (and yes, I have to be more creative in how I multi-task!).

Was there an activist who inspired you while growing up, and who is the most inspiring to you today?

Today, as when I first got the social justice bug, my inspiration comes from regular people who are living through everyday battles. They are my heroes; I am their student. In 1989, I took my first trip to Mexico to build houses for women (and their children) widowed through industrial accidents in the unregulated maquiladora factories. I arrived on the job site intending to bond with my L.A. friends while hammering nails, and was quickly taught one of my favorite life lessons. As it all turns out, I was there to meet a beautiful family and build a home with them, not to bond with my friends while building a home for them. As modest as it was, without electricity or plumbing, it was to become their home for life. That family changed my life and I spent the next ten years leading trips back to Mexico to build houses for dozens of families just like the first.

What can you tell us about yourself or background that people might not know about?

Most people seem to think that I’m always working when in fact I’ve mastered the art of always working and always playing. In addition to loving my work and spending time with my five-year-old daughter Anya, I love to hike, garden, snow ski, and play paddle tennis at the beach. Come join me!