As a girl, Wendy Oxenhorn aspired to become a professional ballerina before a tragic injury shattered her dream. But that twist of fate catapulted her into a life of social work that eventually led her to co-found the first street paper and spark a global movement. Today, there are 112 street papers in 35 countries employing some 11,000 homeless vendors at any given time.
But Wendy’s work didn’t stop there. She eventually landed a dream job saving musicians’ lives at the Jazz Foundation of America and was recently named a 2016 NEA Jazz Master, the nation’s highest honor in jazz.
Wendy shares her incredible journey in her own words.
A full transcript of this interview is available here.
Artist-in-Residence
Adam Kampe  is an audio and video producer at the National Endowment for the Arts. He’s passionate about using his multimedia skills to shine a light on the important stories of Street Sense vendors and to promote the work of the organization. He loves music, avocados, podcasts, and sunshine.
