Danielle Chynoweth's pursuits lie at the intersection of art and politics.

Chynoweth is a community organizer who first came to Urbana to perform with a theater ensemble. She was a city council member whose proudest achievement was establishing a public arts program. She is co-founder of Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center, has campaigned for the expansion of community radio and has taught citizen-based journalism in Third World countries.

Chynoweth got a sense of social justice early in her life. Her parents demonstrated against nuclear weapons and the death penalty. They took in a Laotian refugee family, which lived with them for six months when Chynoweth was 8, and a man fleeing from political persecution in Haiti, who taught Chynoweth to speak French.

"My parents are unbelievably generous and inquisitive and adventuresome," Chynoweth said, adding the primary values they instilled in her were generosity and education.

After college, she moved from Florida to perform with the Performers' Workshop Ensemble, a theater group based in Urbana. She fell in love with the city.

"It was really safe. The trees touched over the streets. It had seasons. People were incredibly warm and friendly," Chynoweth said. "I feel like this is a really engaged community. And it's quiet, as well as having a really vibrant intellectual life."

It didn't take long for her to become active. When Chynoweth learned an elderly co-worker was being evicted from her mobile home, she fought for payment of re-location costs for the 180 residents of the mobile home park being razed to make way for a luxury apartment building. That led to her being asked to run for Urbana city council.

"I knocked on 600 doors," Chynoweth said. "Almost everyone invited me in. In some cases, I got dinner out of it. And we had really rich discussions about what (residents) wanted from the city they lived in. People are interested and interesting."

She was elected and served seven years, helping to establish a public arts program to make recommendations for arts projects, with an emphasis on community engagement.

Chynoweth is a co-founder of the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center, now 11 years old. She strongly believes in residents having a voice in the decisions that affect their lives and sharing the power for making those decisions. She wanted the media center to provide a focus on people and issues that are under-represented in other media, including the Latino and African-American communities, policing issues and environmental hazards associated with agricultural production.

Since founding the media center, Chynoweth has managed a campaign to pass the Local Community Radio Act, which eased restrictions on the establishment of new low-power radio stations, through her work with the Prometheus Radio Project.

Chynoweth has been the vice president of design for 12 years at OJC Technologies, where she manages design and technology projects.

Lori Patterson, president and CEO of OJC Technologies, said of Chynoweth: "When we meet with clients, she asks smart questions, listens intently and pulls answers, like rabbits, out of her hat."

Patterson recalled the company making a presentation to a large group of administrators at the University of Illinois at Chicago. After the administrators tore apart the proposal, Chynoweth got up and sketched out an alternative that gained the approval of everyone in the room.

Chynoweth is currently on sabbatical from OJC, but when she returns, she hopes her work will allow her to support the expansion of community media and free and open use of the Internet.

Her most important work, though, has been raising her six-month-old son Ezra. A single mother by choice, Chynoweth says her friends, along with her parents, are her closest family and have supported her and her son.

She hopes Ezra will someday continue the work of building democracy.

"And I want him to have a lot of fun doing it."

Community involvement not yet mentioned: Works with CU Citizens for Peace and Justice on citizen education and criminal justice reform.

I attribute my success to: The ability to see what isn't there yet.

Most important lesson I've learned in my professional career: Understand the problem, question assumptions, generate alternatives, be ready to change your mind.

Best advice I can give or have received: When I was unhappily in a joint law/doctoral program, a lawyer I respected told me: "Go do what you want to do in the world and then, if and when you need the degree, go to law school." That sentence saved me much time, money, and grief.

My partner/best friend/mom would describe me as: An uncanny combination of sensitive and willful.

Three people I'd want on my team:

Business team: Lori Patterson, Brandon Bowersox, Susan Parenti

Political Team: Esther Patt, Chris Evans, Carol Ammons

To relax, I: Imitate the gestures of my 6-month-old baby.
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Dan Ditchfield's commitment to helping children has made a difference in the lives of the young people at Cunningham Children's Home in Urbana. It's also changed Ditchfield's life.

In his 20s, the Paxton native wouldn't have guessed he'd be recognized as Man of the Year. Ditchfield attended Eastern Illinois University, then spent some time in the West, moving around and never staying at one job for longer than a year.

He moved back to Illinois at age 25, took a look at his life, and thought, "I really haven't done anything worthwhile here."

"I'd really only lived for myself," Ditchfield said. "I wasn't happy. I didn't have a full life. It just left me very empty. I knew I wasn't really doing what God wanted me to do with my life."

A spiritual experience led him to leave a job at Supervalu for a lower-paying one as part of the night staff at Cunningham Children's Home.

"The experience really kind of shaped me in a lot of ways," Ditchfield said of his 12 years at Cunningham.

He moved up from the night staff and eventually became coordinator of the Cornerstone unit for teenage boys. He found the biggest challenge was helping the young men feel good about themselves. His biggest reward: "To see a kid succeed that didn't believe in himself."

Ditchfield's wife, Cindy, a teacher at Cunningham, recalled watching her future husband work with troubled children.

"Dan can walk into a crisis situation with a child and skillfully de-escalate it," she said, adding he was so well-loved at Cunningham that when she later married him, her status rose considerably in the eyes of the young men there.

Marlin Livingston, Cunningham's president and CEO, said, "A big guy, Dan never used his size to intimidate. He was more like a big teddy bear - a patient and kind person who had great respect from the kids and his peers at Cunningham."

The children at Cunningham helped Ditchfield learn about himself as well.

"There's nothing like doing something for somebody else and not getting praise or feedback to see if you're really doing it for you or them," he said. "I learned how willing I am to care about somebody else when they aren't capable of being appreciative back."

Among the accomplishments at Cunningham Children's Home that bring Ditchfield the most pride is starting a staff advocate program, in which a staff member acts as an advocate for a child, whether the child is facing disciplinary consequences or just needs support.

Ditchfield left Cunningham to start his own company a year ago so he could spend more time with his wife and their two young children, Luke and Nickolas. He's owner of The Atlas Agency, which provides insurance and financial products to the educational community as a contractor with the Horace Mann insurance company.

But Ditchfield didn't leave behind his commitment to children.

"What I like about (Horace Mann) is how much it gives back to schools and kids," he said. "For me, it's a great way to say I can still help schools and children, but explore new ways to be creative."

The Atlas Agency has helped provide a tricycle for children with special needs, gift cards and bicycles as rewards for attendance programs and materials for teachers through the Donors Choose organization.

Ditchfield's goal is for his company to spend $10,000 in 2011 on helping schools or children.

Ditchfield said the time spent helping others has made his life richer and more fulfilling.

"My life is so full of great things - my family and my job and my friends," he said. "That's brought so much more joy than any selfish pursuits."

Proudest professional accomplishment: Having the courage to trust God and take a giant leap of faith to leave a well-paying, secure job and to start my own company.

Interesting fact you may not know about me: I am an avid fisherman and a Star Wars fan.

Three people I'd want on my team: Scott Douglas, Becky Fredrick and John Wegerzyn. Luckily for me, Scott and Becky already work for me. I've been trying to recruit John for almost a year, so John, give me a call sometime.

Most important lesson I've learned in my professional career: Ask for what you want. Don't listen to any negative advice. Dream big and go for it.