Adrienne Windley describes herself as a “warrior by nature.” For years, she was a leader in a battle against big tobacco companies. Today, as the recently appointed executive director of the Young Women’s Resource Center, she’s a warrior for the needs and interests of women and children. Windley was raised in small-town Ohio and, at 21, moved to Chicago to pursue an adventure. At 25, she opened an insurance agency, then met and married her husband, Cedric, owner of Dynamic Delivery. They moved to Des Moines 14 years ago, which Windley saw it as an opportunity for a fresh start. She returned to college, earned a teaching degree and headed into the classroom as a substance abuse educator. She furthered her fight by establishing the Women’s Tobacco Prevention Network and later heading up an effort to stop a major promotional event by one of the nation’s largest tobacco companies. But as an advocate for holistic health care, Windley saw tobacco as just one piece of the puzzle. In April, she was named executive director of the Young Women’s Resource Center, a job she feels she has been preparing for throughout her career.

Why did you leave your small hometown of Milford, Ohio, for Chicago?

I ran away to Chicago at 21 because I didn’t like small-town life and thought it would be exciting. I had an aunt who was my partner in crime. She had a job lined up for me in Elmhurst with Keebler (Foods Co.). So with $300 and a U-Haul, I left and didn’t tell my parents where I was going. They were mad at me.

Did you purposefully work your way into substance abuse prevention?

It was by default. But I liked it because I’m a warrior by nature, especially when it comes to women and children. Then I saw what Brown & Williamson (Tobacco Corp.) was doing in terms of targeting children. So I really jumped into that full force. I traveled around the country, mainly to Chicago, organizing communities and educating communities on how to fight back.

What did you learn through your anti-tobacco efforts?

I gained an understanding of what power we have when we really work together as a community. We shut down (Brown & Williamson’s Kool Mixx) national DJ contest and really put an end to the whole marketing campaign. We received media attention from as far away as South Africa. I got a call from Hawaii, where tobacco companies were marketing Kauai Kolada cigarettes with a little hula girl on the packages. They called me because they wanted to know how they could organize and fight against that marketing campaign. So the word got out all over that we fought and we won.

Why was it time for you to move away from substance abuse prevention and on to another fight?

Tobacco was just one part of the greater issue. The tobacco work was very important, and we need advocates out there fighting the tobacco industry. But we also have to realize that there’s a root cause of tobacco abuse. We have to find out what that root cause might be and work to kill the root of the real problem. Tobacco abuse is just a symptom.

Why was the Young Women’s Resource Center a good fit for you?

Because of my passion for women and girls and children. And it allowed me to serve in a capacity where we could help people discover the connection between mind, body and spirit and through that improve their quality of life by making positive choices.

Do you feel your talents are better put to use with this organization?

I do. I feel like everything I’ve done in my life was for this moment.

How did you develop such strong passions for women and children?

It probably comes from being in a family that really pushed community service. It was a very service-oriented family. I can remember my father having a dinner for homeless people on Christmas Day, and that was one of the best Christmases I ever had. But it snowed and we had eight turkeys and all these pans of food and only 40 people showed up. So we were driving around in my mom’s station wagon handing out food all over Cincinnati.

Why enroll in divinity school?

I don’t know how to describe my motivation, but I’m into holistic health and wellness and areas of the mind, body and spirit. I’ve done pieces working with healing, for lack of a better word. And I don’t know that I’ll be a minister, but I’m learning a lot that I’ll apply to the work that I do – the spirit portion, anyway.

What leader in the human services sector do you try to emulate in your own work?

Marian Wright Edelman, because of all the work she has done with the Children’s Defense Fund. She represents commitment, integrity and truth. I try to embody her vision. I think it would be a perfect world, but it’s not a perfect world. So we find out the reasons why it’s not perfect and try to eliminate those barriers or challenges. It’s really about making it better for the next generation. If we can break a cycle now, we save a lot of people down the line.

– Erin Morain