Wynona Ward papers

Wynona Ward graduated from high school in 1969. She attended Boston University, and later earned her A.B. degree from Vermont College of Norwich University in 1995 and her J.D. from Vermont Law School in 1998; she became a member of the Vermont Bar in 2000. In the years prior to earning her undergraduate degree, Ward worked as Secretary to the Superintendent of a Vermont school district (1969 to 1973); as Office Manager of DTSS, Inc. (1973 to 1977); and, from 1980 to 1995, owned, operated, and was principle truck driver for Ward Transportation Services. While in law school, she clerked in the Vermont Family Court and in the Child Protection Unit of the Vermont Attorney General's Office (1997), and worked as a legal intern at the South Royalton (VT) Legal Clinic from 1997 to 2000.

Based on her own experience of childhood poverty and domestic violence, Ward founded Have Justice Will Travel in 1998, an organization that "brings free legal services into rural [Vermont] communities by providing in-home consultations, transportation, and legal representation for low-income women who are victims of domestic violence." Ward travels to her clients in a four-wheel drive vehicle equipped with cell phone, laptop computer, printer, and CB radio. She assists the women and their children in all phases of the process, from the initial interview and the relief from abuse order through self-sufficiency and independence. To this end, Ward and her staff also work closely with victim advocacy groups and social service agencies in making sure clients receive the necessary support services. Ward maintains the primary HJWT office in her home in Chelsea, Vermont, staffed by her husband and by interns and volunteers from Vermont Law School and Dartmouth College. After receiving a $150,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Violence Against Women Act Office in 2001 to expand its services, HJWT established offices in Bennington and Brattleboro, Vermont in 2002, and hired an attorney to direct their operations. Ward lectures widely and also provides "instructive symposia" on how to implement the HJWT model in other rural areas. She has received many honors and awards, including Outstanding Law Student of the Year in 1998 (chosen from a national pool of more than 3,500 candidates), and Lifetime Television for Women's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.