Born in Baltimore, Janie is the only child to disabled parents from central Tennessee and raised on a small cattle farm in Howard County. Current PTA President of her sons' elementary school. Awarded a National PTA Healthy Minds-Healthy Kids Grant to implement Healthy Minds-Healthy Kids programming at the school. Advocate for the voices of parents through PTA advocacy, such as joining other PTA members across the state to advocate for Fair Funding of our Schools and Universal Meals for Students.

Bachelor of Science in Social Science - Anthropology from University of Maryland University College; Associate Degree in Nursing from Howard Community College. Currently enrolled in George Washington University to complete the Bachelor of Nursing.

History of volunteerism, including: Manna Food Center, RISE program with Johns Hopkins, Mid-Maryland Archeology, Therapeutic Recreational Riding Center in Dayton, MD, and current member of the Rotary Club of New Market.

Organized the Ebola Panel at Montgomery College as Vice President and member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Worn many hats including owning a small retail business in Gaithersburg, MD; Veterinary Technician; Archeological Technician with the National Park Service; and Registered Nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital. While at Johns Hopkins Hospital: Unit Falls Champion, Flu Fighter Vaccinator, and CAUTI advocate, and nominated for the Daisy Award

Policy Objectives - 

1. Enhance accessibility to the Career & Technology Center by advocating for the allocation of capital funds to renovate existing, vacant commercial properties suitable for trades requiring expansive classrooms, such as automotive and welding. Collaborate with county planning and design to include flexible spaces for CTC trade offerings in the High School.  This will provide CTC resources to students in the school and their services to underserved communities.  Additionally, introduce the CTC to middle school students and parents to familiarize them with the center and its offerings, thereby exposing them to the array of opportunities available through the CTC.
2. Enhance our policies and guidance for educators, staff, and families to effectively mitigate and resolve behavioral conflicts. This includes assessing the resource needs of students and families. The policy should establish a strong foundation that each school can use to manage and assess behavior management practices. These practices should support students' personal development, fostering mutual respect and understanding of boundaries among students and staff.
3. Collaborate with state and county stakeholders to assess the feasible implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland, particularly as FCPS faces challenges in securing funding to accommodate current and future student populations. Identify the key challenges and obstacles and develop guidance to navigate them, ensuring the successful implementation of the Blueprint.

Janie's Forward Story: 

I am excited to be endorsed by the Forward Party because the values align with my own regarding voting and strengthening our democracy.  Beyond the success of my own campaign for Board of Education is an opportunity to work with others towards a common goal of having voters feel like their vote really matters and their elected official is someone they can get behind.  All the other issues cannot be adequately addressed without a representative government that represents the people versus their biggest donors.

I am running for the Board of Education because we can do a better job of reaching out to all our communities and bringing them into the conversations and decisions that are affecting their students and families.  As a community we rely on the education of our children to produce adults who can keep moving the needle forward on innovative ideas, who will look to those struggling in their communities as opportunities to engage and find solutions, and who respect the autonomy of others as they would wish to have theirs respected.  I hope I can accomplish better communication and collaboration between students and their families with the Board of Education.  Communicating earlier and more often is key to a successful partnership between the community and their elected officials.