Background
Calhoun, John Alfred was born on December 1, 1939 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of John Alfred and Helen Fordham (Webster) Calhoun.
(Mary Gonzales strolls the streets of Chicago's meatpackin...)
Mary Gonzales strolls the streets of Chicago's meatpacking district every evening, keeping a watchful eye over "her" neighborhood kids. Tony Ortiz encourages young men in California state prisons to break free of the brutal gang life he once knew all too well. Joe Hynes, Brooklyn's district attorney, champions women and children, not wanting them to suffer as he suffered. They, and the twenty-one other amazing people interviewed by Jack Calhoun, are reshaping lives and communities across America. They include Christians of every denomination, Muslims, Jews, and others, some who pray five times a day and some who are, frankly, "not that religious." But each tells Calhoun, there's much more to the story. You may have heard of some of these Americans. Several are in the news. The good words of all shine brightly in their communities. What you haven't heard about is the underlying force, the hidden source of their seemingly endless energy and selflessness. It is faith -- a deep and, in some cases, unsuspected spirituality. They have the unshakable sense that they work not only for their organizations -- and each individual they encounter -- but especially for God. Calhoun was once an eager divinity school student, hungry to make a difference. Through the years he rose to national prominence in the field of public policy, spending twenty-plus years as the founding president of the National Crime Prevention Council. However, something wasn't right. Caught up in a parade of committee meetings, speaking engagements, and policy and program initiatives, he had lost touch with the bedrock of his vocation. It took an encounter with an unusually clear-sighted volunteer to reconnect his daily work to his faith in God. Reinvigorated, Calhoun embarked on a two-year cross-country quest to find out how faith motivates some of America's hardest-working public servants. They pursue a range of innovative and ambitious plans to help their communities, and their accomplishments are impressive. But just try telling them so. They have been chosen, they'll explain, to fulfill a larger purpose. Their paths have been rocky, their burdens heavy, and the work hasn't always been fun. Yet they feel blessed, emboldened by their trust in a higher power to live lives of acceptance and unbounded love. Some recent books have laid divisiveness and hostility at faith's door. "Hope Matters" brings to light the togetherness and reconciliation that faith truly engender when good people heed its call to action. You won't hear Mary, Tony, Joe or the rest preaching from the pulpit, or even in the streets. They have no sermon or script to follow. There is a ministry of open arms and second chances, of waking up each morning with new challenges and going to bed each night with renewed faith. Their stories just might inspire you to make your own "place of worship" a little bigger.
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Calhoun, John Alfred was born on December 1, 1939 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of John Alfred and Helen Fordham (Webster) Calhoun.
Bachelor, Brown University, 1962. Master in Division, Episcopal Division School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1965. Master of Public Administration, Harvard University, 1986.
Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Heidelberg College, 2001.
Teacher, Philadelphia public schools, 1965-1966;
program administrator, Action for Boston Community Development, 1966-1970;
vice president, Technology Development Corporation, Boston, 1970-1973;
executive director, Justice Resource Institute, Boston, 1973-1976;
commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Youth Superior vena cava syndrome, Boston, 1976-1979;
then commissioner, United States Administration for Children, Youth and Families, Washington, 1979-1981;
director Center for Governmental Affairs, Child Welfare League, Washington, 1981-1983;
executive director, National Crime Prevention Council, Washington, since 1983. President of the board directors National Center for Youth as Resources. Board directors National Funding Collaborative on Violence Prevention, Center for International Leadership, District of Columbia.
Secretary, board directors International Center for the Prevention of Crime. Board directors Pacific Center for Violence Prevention, The National Assembly of Voluntary Health and Social Welfare Ags. Associate in education Harvard University, 1978.
Moderator Aspen Institute, since 1980. Founder Pre-trial Diversion Programs, Massachusetts, Urban Court Mediation Cmty. Sentencing, Massachusetts, Youth as Resources, Massachusetts and Indiana, Cmty.
Responses to Drug Abuce, 10 Sites Across the United States. Board/ advisors The National Center for Gang Policy, Washington. Member steering committee National Funding Collaborative for Violence Prevention.
Member United States Attorney General's Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice.
(Mary Gonzales strolls the streets of Chicago's meatpackin...)
Coach McLean (Virginia) Youth. Teacher confirmation class Louisville Presbyterian Church, McLean. State chairman Massachusetts Adolescent Task Force, 1978.
Chairman Massachusetts State of the Family Task Force, 1979. President Franklin Flaschner Foundation, 1978. Treasurer Metropolitan Beaverbrook Area Mental Health Board.
Board advisors University Massachusetts College Community Public Service, 1979. Board directors Edna Stein Academy, Boston, Pekinese Island School, Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Member advisory board Virginia Department for Children, 1990-1994.
Member policy advisory committee Advertising Council Inc.
Married Ottilia Klenota, May 29, 1971. Children: Byron, Hollis.