When Judge Sarah T. Hughes looked at Maura McNiel and said, "You will be the president," she made one of the wisest decisions of her career--and there were many. Few people have both a "fire in the belly" and the temperament of a saint. Maura had both. She was well-respected--married, a mother, a Sunday school teacher, a college graduate, a volunteer--plus being well-known in the business community.
Maura is much more than the founding president of Women for Change, which evolved into the Women's Center of Dallas, she was the driving force behind every group established at Women for Change, attended all committee meetings of every task force, explained the group to the Dallas community, led the search for office space, was the public spokesperson for the group, quoted in newspapers, appearing on radio, TV and speaking before numerous organizations throughout the community. She once explained to the all-male (at that time) Rotary Club that just as birds flew better with two wings, marriages worked better as a partnership where both husband and wife shared responsibilities and demands. With her incredible organizational skills, Maura managed to work equally well with professional women and stay-at-home moms, displaced homemakers, ardent feminists and women timidly taking their first steps to self-emancipation. Hers was an unpaid job that stretched to all seven days of the week, some as many as 14 hours a day. She found a place for everyone who wanted to contribute, calmed the waters when necessary and led the fight for acceptance when called for. Because she was intimately involved in every group, she was able to direct the person with the right talent to a group where she could best serve. She groomed future leaders, encouraged shy followers and kept the path clear for both leaders and followers.
When Vivian Castleberry wrote the first story about the organization, a coupon for response was included--and the flood gates opened. Some of the first responses came from women who were being beaten in their own homes, feared for their lives and had nowhere to turn. Maura took the first woman into her own home and then set about finding a solution. Women for Change found the first "safe houses" for victims of family abuse, and was deeply involved in the eventual founding of the Family Place, Dallas' first sanctuary for family abuse victims.
Veteran feminist Gloria Steinem once said that Dallas had done more than any other city to improve the lives of its women. Maura McNiel deserves a major share of that accolade because she had the skills and the heart to lay the groundwork for every successful advancement for women in Dallas. She is truly a Woman for Change.
Post compiled by: Vivian Castleberry, Kay Cole and Tegwin Dyer Pulley
