Mary
Hussmann is a registered nurse and teacher who has worked as a
community organizer on healthcare and other social justice issues
for 30 years. She has directed field work for the group’s efforts
since the beginning and leads the canvassing operations for the
initiative petition to save Medicaid. Mary’s inspiring history in
organizing connects people’s struggles of the past with the present,
recalling her days in training under Fred Ross, Sr.
Christine
Reynoso is a social worker who joins the initiative
campaign near the end in order to boost the chances of
acquiring the necessary amount of signatures in the final
and most challenging St. Louis congressional districts. Her
experience leads her to doubt the commitment of several St.
Louis organizations who fail the cause, but motivates her to
work even harder to reach the goal.
Judy Frasher
lives by herself and has gone back to school to get a social work
degree. She joins the group as an intern for the campaign, but,
after the petitions are submitted to the state, finds out her son
has been critically injured in a motorcycle accident
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Robin Acree
is a grassroots leader for women and low-income families in rural
Missouri. She co-founded the empowerment organization (GRO) in her
home town (Mexico, Missouri) and has directed it through six years
of amazing policy change victories for low-income Missourians.
Robin’s charisma and honest confrontation with her own ongoing
struggles with Crohn’s Disease, the unavailability of health care
coverage, family crisis and the psychological legacies of poverty
have made her a leader for the underdog and the oppressed in every
circle she encounters.
Kaye Miller
worked for the cable company before permanently injuring her
leg after falling from a utility poll on the job. Kaye has
known Robin for many years and has fought alongside her
since the accident, including on public housing issues in
Mexico, Missouri where she lives. Despite her permanent leg
brace and chronic asthma she proves resilient once again as
one of the strongest leader volunteers, canvassing the
projects and the business districts.
Pam Forbes
lives by herself and works at a factory in Columbia, Missouri. She
joins the campaign, new to the group of women leaders, but quickly
outshines all the volunteers, collecting thousands of signatures in
multiple congressional districts while holding down a full-time job.
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