Jane West

For an organization like Students Shoulder to Shoulder that is grounded in education, Jane West's extensive and varied experience in the fields of journalism, education, and counseling make her an ideal member of the SStS Board of Directors. Jane worked for many years as a documentary filmmaker for network and public television in the U.S. and overseas (ABC News, PBS, BBC). She made multi-part television series about the environment, medicine, politics, and history on several continents and consequently brings a keen awareness of international issues to her board membership at SStS. During the last decade, Jane has added a focus on education and child development to her brief, having completed a masters in counseling psychology and early childhood education at the University of Colorado. She also has a masters in journalism from Columbia University and an undergraduate degree in international relations from Stanford University. Though her company, Heart of the West Counseling, LLC, Jane, a licensed school and professional counselor, provides therapeutic services to families and consulting services to programs such as Early Head Start, Head Start, and private pre-schools. She has also developed leadership programs for secondary school students and conflict resolution groups for middle schoolers and their families. She was recently a leadership fellow with Zero to Three, a national policy organization that advocates for young children, and she also serves on the board of Beyond Our Borders, a funding group with a focus on women's and girls' needs in developing countries.