Candy Lightner Biography

Candace Lightner founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and We Save Lives is recognized nationally and internationally as the moving force behind reshaping the nation's attitude toward drunk driving. She has been credited with saving more than 400000 lives. After her 13-year-old daughter Cari was killed by a multiple repeat offender drunk driver who threw her 125 feet and left her in the road to die she learned that he was still driving on a valid California driver’s license despite his prior convictions. She also learned that he was out on bail from another hit and run drunk driving crash and that probably nothing would happen to him “because that’s the way the system works”. Armed with just her anger and passion she set out to change the system and the prevailing attitude of societal acceptance about the most often committed crime in the country.
As MADD's Chief Executive Officer President and Chairman of the Board Lightner masterminded MADD from a small California grass roots organization into an international corporation with more than 400 chapters worldwide and an annual budget of over 12 million dollars. Under her leadership MADD’s membership base grew to more than two million.
Equally important Lightner provided the solution-- vision legislative strategy and consensus-building skills---necessary to move lawmakers into proactively changing the laws and saving lives. Ms. Lightner's political acumen led to the successful passage of more than 500 bills at the state and national levels including legislation raising the drinking age to 21 -- a move credited with saving thousands of lives. She has testified before Congress statehouses and committee hearings and has formed coalitions such as SOS (Save Our Students) as powerful political tools. She successfully called for the California Governor and The President to form Commissions to solve the drunk driving problem and served on both. She also conceived organized and or implemented visionary national programs including: Project Graduation Victim Services Alcohol Server Training leadership conferences volunteer recruitment and training courtroom monitoring and speakers' bureaus.

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