For Adam Woody, community impact is synonymous with his job as a criminal defense attorney at the Law Offices of Dee Wampler and Joseph Passanise.
At 28, Woody already has had a strong influence on the juvenile detention system of Greene County, even though it's been just three years since he earned his law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
"I take great pride in working significantly for underprivileged children throughout my educational pursuits and my career," Woody says.
His passion for helping young people began in college when he mentored a Pipkin Middle School student and an 11-year-old autistic boy. Woody also worked with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Springfield.
"Throughout that position, I became extremely close to several children and worked very hard advising and tutoring them," he says. "It has been wonderful, now that I have moved back to Springfield, to follow some of these children and see how they are progressing."
During law school, Woody worked with the Autism Legislation Project, a Chicago-based group that seeks to improve legislation benefiting autistic children nationwide. Since returning to Springfield, Woody's devotion has been to the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative.
"(The initative) promotes changes to policy practices and programs in order to reduce reliance on secure confinement, (and to) improve public safety, reduce racial disparities and bias, save taxpayer dollars, and stimulate overall juvenile justice reforms," Woody says.
Woody gladly accepted a board position with the initiative and the challenge of bringing change to the system.
"We have reduced significantly the amount of children locked up in secure facilities in Greene County and ... we have found alternatives to incarceration for these youth," he says. Woody also is involved with the Rotaract Club, an offshoot of Rotary International for the 18- to 30-year-old age group, and he is a member of the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association.
Woody is working with the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to bring student chapters to all four Missouri law schools, including his alma mater.
"I anticipate continued work in this organization for many years to come, as it is an essential building block for criminal defense lawyers and those we represent," he says.
His efforts with the Springfield bar include mentoring newly admitted attorneys. He also gives lectures about his work to groups such as fraternities and sororities, at Drury and Missouri State universities.
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