After graduating from Barnard College with a BA in Political Science and Education and a Provisional Certification to teach Elementary Education, Janine engaged in a law clerkship in Vermont in pursuit of becoming an attorney. However, the experience left her feeling unfulfilled. She decided to explore her artistic talents, created a portfolio, and applied for design school while working at a progressive early childhood learning center in Los Angeles. After completing her AAS in Communication Design and BFA in Packaging Design at FIT in NYC, Janine deeply desired dedicating her energy to a nonprofit that tapped into her earlier career interest in early childhood and elementary education. All signs pointed her in the direction of Stand for Children. Janine dreamt of becoming a teacher as a child and even set up school lessons for her surprisingly willing younger brother but thinks that using her design skills to help fight for education equity satiates both the desire to both be a positive contributor to the education space and exercise her artistic talent. In her free time, she loves to garden, host competitive lawn game events, Zumba, knit, learn more about going zero-waste, and smother her beloved furry babies, Ziggy and Phoebe.