About me
Dr. Wanda Boone is the Executive Director and Founder of Together for Resilient Youth (TRY). TRY 501C3 non-profit was founded in 2003 to prevent substance abuse among youth by addressing community risk factors. Wanda sees her work as an effort to combat a series of cultural shifts that have made risky behaviors and substance abuse so appealing to youth – the packaging of alcohol in larger and more kid-friendly forms, the glamorization of drug abuse and risky behaviors by musicians, marijuana as green and good, the rise of prescription drug abuse by all ages. Wanda is an Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)/Resilience train the trainer and Master trainer on many topics related to coalition building, grant writing and strategic planning. For Wanda “It is all about individuals reclaiming their power, and changing the landscape, the places where people live, work and play” TRY has been recognized by the US Surgeon General as “connecting the dots to have influence on the built environment by engaging a grassroots effort to drive change.” Wanda was President Obama’s Faith and Community Partnership Representative for NC 2008-2016.