Champion Profile: Margaret Dunkle is a Voice for Children in Need

Also a senior fellow at the Center for Health Services Research and Policy at George Washington University, Dunkle has written more than 100 publications and testified nine times before Congress. While in L.A. County, Dunkle brokered a one-of-a-kind partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau to get annual Census data for the county's eight Service Planning Areas and 69 sub areas. She also created a well-know "spaghetti poster" that shows how more than 40 programs might touch a working poor family in L.A. County.

Previously, in Washington, D.C., Dunkle conceived and drafted a 1986 federal amendment that enabled low-income mothers to receive federal college financial aid without losing eligibility for welfare or health care. She also wrote the first analysis of the impact of Title IX on women's athletics. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 requires that schools and colleges receiving federal funding provide equal opportunities to both women and men.

Dunkle was born and raised in Maryland, and spent much of her adult life in Washington D.C., working on issues affecting women, families, children and civil rights. She attended Hood College and Syracuse University, graduating with a degree in psychology. Today, Dunkle splits her time between L.A. and Washington D.C.

For her work on behalf of children, Dunkle has received the American Academy of Pediatrics' Dale Richmond Award and Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation's National Ambassador Award.

What makes you happy?
Family, friends, making a difference, and bad puns.

What is your favorite way to spend time with an important child or children in your life?
Stepping into their world and seeing reality through their eyes.

What is your idea of a perfect world?
A perfect world would be really boring. So, my idea of a "perfect world" is one with minor flaws and endearing foibles.

What is the greatest challenge the children and families of L.A. County face today?
Tackling the elephant in the living room - that is, identifying and effectively helping the 12 to 17 percent of children who have a developmental delay, disability or other problems.

Who was your favorite teacher and why?
Mrs. Peggy King, my high school Latin teacher, who honestly taught the Lord's Prayer in Latin as literature.

What is your motto?
Carpe Diem! Aprovecha el dia! Profitez du moment! Carpire il giorno! Engrife den tag! Seize the Day!

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