Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Madonna Jervis Wise. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Madonna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

‘Canvas Rebel’ is an ideal grouping for Madonna Jervis Wise, author, researcher, and community activist. From an early age, Madonna saw the opportunities for women in business and leadership. A first-generation college student from rural Indiana, she attended Taylor University on scholarship. Soon she was competing with the male dominated history and government teachers to teach in a high school in central Florida that was on year-round school and double sessions. Not a week goes by so many decades later that she does not hear from her students. Madonna came from a long line of strong women, and she didn’t see limitations in her rural or feminine background. Along with roles as professional educator for some 38 years as a history teacher, school counselor (Licensed Mental Health Counselor), grant writer/program developer, and school principal, she was constantly writing. When she saw a need, she found a federal or nonprofit grant and taught herself how to research and write for the topic to acquire resources. Whether it was a new educational program, a needed vehicle for an orphanage in Haiti, a conference in Sweden or Japan in education, a splash park to commemorate a beloved community pool location, a doula program for a local hospital, an anniversary program for Rotary, and oh, so much more, she was on the case.
Not surprising, Madonna wrote a weekly newspaper column during high school for her local newspaper and went on to write for five other newspapers over the years. Her expertise in curriculum development and professional journal writing was honed at USF and other institutions.
For nearly twenty years, Madonna has been sought after for her historical and genealogical research. She has written thirteen books and is a bestselling author for her local history books. She is an impeccable researcher who looks for every conceivable source of information before writing about the person, usually a historical icon of some type, in a manner that introduces you to that person.
In her historical novel, “Preacher Woman,” Madonna weaves the story of a female evangelist in the late 1800s who defies all odds as she preaches in rural churches in the Midwest and fights breast cancer in a timeframe in which it women were not allowed to speak in public.
Recently Madonna has devoted a year of research in putting together a historical tour of Dade City, Florida which not only takes the reader through 78 historical sites but teaches one about life in frontier Florida with the triumphs, tragedies, and generational development. Madonna has interviewed hundreds of sources for her various local research. A regular speaker throughout Tampa Bay and Florida, Madonna loves to share the quirky vignettes and introduce her audience to all nature of folks from frontier Florida.
Madonna is also an accomplished equestrian and her readers will not be surprised to find some stories of exceptional horses and the incredible communication of a horse and rider!
Madonna’s next book which is in the early development stages is based upon the struggles of farm workers in Florida. She is collaborating with Margarita Romo on this important topic which will reveal the incredible paths of courageous people who have traversed unimaginable obstacles!
Check out her array of works!

Madonna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Madonna’s webpage is MadonnaWisebooks.com! You can find her books at all the major booksellers. Google Madonna Jervis Wise and you can listen to a sampling of her presentations which include history fairs, conferences, and speaking engagements. Madonna entered the field of writing as a storyteller. From her earliest recollections, she asked questions and looked for the uniqueness of each personality. When she encountered a person who ‘beat the odds’ or ‘took risks,’ she was compelled to tell their story. The characters were sometimes family members…a grandfather who lied about his age to fight in France, a great-aunt who ran rum during prohibition, moonshiners in Depression-era Florida, and so much more. To obtain a sampling of her work, check out “Trailblazing Women of Tampa Bay,” a book that Madonna penned during the Covid pandemic and features the heroic stories of Florida women. Published by Arcadia Publishing in South Carolina, the book features women in sports, politics, medicine, law, and the military.
Madonna has a degree in counseling and is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Florida. In her professional career, she supervised the Social Workers in one Florida educational system and served as President of the state organization. She later supervised the School Counselors in another Florida School District. Her knowledge of human development, mental health, and human development are abundantly apparent in her writing and research as she seeks to show the cause for behavior.
Similarly read, “A Haunted History of Pasco County” which was published by History Press and reveals many stories that Madonna gained from interviews about folklore. In her research, Madonna thrust out a wide net of interest and then conducted interviews about ghost stories and their origin. She infused superstitions, oddities and even humorous stories that through misinterpretation became folklore. Madonna explains the origin of the story and the sequence of events in vivid detail.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Madonna Wise pushed with determined reverence to build a platform for her life as an author and researcher. She relied upon her reputation in central Florida as an educator and LMHC. She had a following from the hundreds and hundreds of students she taught as well as the many educators and support staff she mentored as their supervisor. She has been featured in the “Tampa Bay Times”or full page spreads as well as the “Tampa Tribune.” and “Laker.” A sampling of the numerous interviews are included on her webpage.

Being picked up by a national publisher, Arcadia Publishing/History Press was a step on her professional path as an author. Fellow local historians, civic leaders, and officials respected her level of research and put her in key positions. Serving as the State Chairperson of “The Stories Behind the Stars,” a nationwide effort to document the lives of all WW II fallen soldiers, and doing much of the research on identification of historic buildings for classification were beneficial.
Whether she is judging the floats in a Founder’s Day Parade in Florida or writing as a guest author in a professional journal or putting together the community exhibit at the Tampa Bay History Center, her work is acknowledged for its documentation and citations of research. Wise’s work is respected.
She is frequently in demand to assist with historical overviews and documentation which she has done for a variety of elected leaders. To illustrate this, note that Danny Burgess, Florida State Senator, wrote the following for the launch of “Trailblazing Women of Tampa Bay,”

“Madonna Wise’s histories are proof that the past still speaks to us​. She brilliantly shines a light on the Tampa Bay community; and her works leave our shared legacy that much more illuminated.”

Have you ever had to pivot?

In her early development as a local history author, Madonna was particularly appreciative to the County Commission at the time. Pat Mulieri, a well-respected county commissioner and an extraordinary humanitarian, heard of Madonna’s impending release of the first written history of Dade City, Florida, the third book in her history sequence, Mulieri wanted Madonna to be featured at a ribbon-cutting at the 1909 historical courthouse in the county. She arranged for the financial contributions, insurance coverage and press for the event. Madonna was given the latitude to invite a slate of respected professional historians to speak at the event along with Madonna. It was an opportunity to teach and share the wealth of information about the area and the developing community.

Almost ten years after the event, moments were priceless for Madonna and it was an opportunity to acknowledge the work of her colleagues. “It was pure synergy and joy,” said Madonna. “With support from Arcadia Publishing we cut the ribbon for the release of the book, and I had an opportunity to thank the community.”

From that event, Madonna’s work accelerated in volume and quality!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.MadonnaWiseBooks.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImagesofAmericaDadeCity/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madonna-jervis-wise-ab6a3574/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3LicN_8YxDfDJ9pw90xTpA
• Blog: https://madonnawisebooks.wordpress.com/
• Amazon About the Author: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Madonna-Jervis-Wise/author/B003RGSJB6?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Image Credits
These photos were taken by my family or I