FOUNDER

Jane Himmel

Jane is known for the passion she brings to her work. This trait was noted as early as fourth grade in this report card comment: “her enthusiasm radiates throughout the class.” Yes, her mother saved a lot of things. What a luxury to retain these artifacts of a past life: her family relied not only on a mother’s habits, but on the safety and security of having control over what they acquired and how they held on to it.

Most recently, Jane served as the first Refugee Child and Youth Coordinator at the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants. In designing the responsibilities for this position, she created programming that would help clients maintain a sense of confidence in who they were as they navigated unfamiliar territory. She worked closely with families and schools to address literacy challenges and cultural differences in support of educational adjustment and attainment. She was the keynote speaker at the Bridgeport Public Schools 2017 ELL (English Language Learners) Summit.

In 2015, Jane presented her research on “Medical School Discrimination: Advocacy in a Postwar World” at the New York Academy of Medicine. For Stop the Violence Akron (OH) Movement, a grassroots community-based organization combatting gun violence, Jane created an in-depth guide for youth on the effects of living with violence, ways to seek help and to take action. She was part of a writing group with female inmates at the Westchester County (NY) Correctional Facility through the “Right to Write” program of Sarah Lawrence College. Jane participated in the two-day “Undoing Racism” Workshop conducted by the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. She is a member of the National Association for Multicultural Education.

Previously, Jane worked in corporate communications and held a variety of local volunteer leadership positions. She returned to school in 2014 for a Masters in Health Advocacy from Sarah Lawrence College. This education transformed her in ways that she never expected. Centered around concepts of agency, power, voice and justice, this program examined the interplay between systemic issues and individual attainment.  Today, Jane uses this education to inform the approach and practices of Megaphone Productions.