Janice Jackson

Following completion of her master's degree in 1973, Sister Janice Jackson founded Sponsors, Inc., a groundbreaking program with a mission to involve the people in the community in the re-socialization of men and women returning from prison. This program remains a thriving agency today having served hundreds of individuals reentering the community following incarceration.

At its inception, the program had a two-fold purpose: 1) to assist these men and women in their efforts to make a successful transition back into the community and 2) to educate the community about the needs of the ex-offenders and hopefully to begin to change some negative attitudes toward them. The program was designed to match people in the community with men and women in prison that would, in turn, sponsor, or mentor, the incarcerated individual during their reintegration into the community. In addition to the mentor relationship, the program provided essential services to support a successful reentry for the individual including counseling services, developing jobs and connecting with other community agencies.

Sponsors, Inc. has evolved its focus in its nearly 40 years and has experienced enormous growth. Focusing primarily on providing services, Sponsors, Inc. has evolved from a walk-in community services program to a dynamic residential program, with separate facilities for women and men.

Sponsors continues to be an organization that services people as well as publicly supports legislation that can impact the many who have passed through the criminal justice system. In addition to Sponsors, Jackson was a founding board member for Oregon People for Prison Alternatives, which provided public information and legislative action on issues of justice, and the Eugene Community Mediation Board, a non-profit organization trained to help neighbors resolve conflict within their own communities.

In 1980, Janice was given the"Valiant Woman of the Year Award" from Church Women United of Oregon which recognized her achievement in the area of justice and pioneering ministry to the imprisoned.

Janice Jackson was born in Salem, Oregon in 1933 to Dorothe Marie Pickens and Louis Clark Jackson.  Through her childhood, she moved several times throughout the state of Oregon. At the age of two she moved north to Woodburn, and then in 1938 moved to Hubbard onto the Jackson family farm. In 1939, Janice was in the St. Paul Rodeo parade with her father and got a special ribbon for being the youngest cowgirl in the parade. Her family moved to Eastern Oregon in 1943, living first in Lexington then moved to Ione to a 3,000-acre wheat ranch. In 1945, when Janice was in the seventh grade the family moved back to the Willamette Valley and she attended seventh and eighth grades at St. Joseph's Catholic Grade School in Salem. In 1947, Janice entered as a freshman at Sacred Heart Academy. She served as a class officer during her freshman and sophomore years, and as a student body officer during her junior and senior years. Following graduation from Sacred Heart in 1951, on July 25, Janice entered the Sisters of the Holy Names Community located at Marylhurst, Oregon. In 1954, Janice made her first vows and went on to teach in Spokane, Seattle, and Portland over the next eleven years. After several years, Sister Janice graduated from Marylhurst University with a bachelor's degree in Education.

Sister Janice was assigned to Lake Oswego at Our Lady of the Lake School between 1965-1969 and for three of the years she was the principal of the school and superior at the Lady of the Lake Convent. While continuing in this position, Sister Janice then began a master's degree program in Rehabilitation Counseling at the University of Oregon in 1966, attending only summer sessions. Her final two years of teaching were spent at St. Vincent's Catholic Grade School in North Salem.

From the fall of 1971, she moved to Eugene to become a full-time student and completed all of her practica work at detention centers in Salem, including the Hillcrest School for Girls and McClaren School for Boys. Growing up in Salem in the shadow of the institutions made her curious about prisons and her curiosity grew over time into an interest in post-prison reentry services. Regarding the practice of incarceration, she said, "It pulls people apart. If we set up adversarial relationships, we can expect violent behavior, but reconciling relationships creates very different behavior."

In 1984, Sister Janice was a finalist for the Durfee Award, a national honor recognizing individuals who have enhanced the dignity of others through the law. She remained with Sponsors, Inc, for 13 years until 1986 when she decided to pursue other passions. Following her time at Sponsors, Inc. Janice responded to the need expressed by women desiring to nurture their spirituality. She began facilitating retreats and group sessions which led to the creation of the Open Hearth Spirituality Center located in Eugene, established in 1995.

Janice also has been a successful floral photographer selling cards under the name Images by Janice. Janice is also an avid sports fan, with great loyalty to the Oregon Ducks. Having grown up on a farm, Janice has had a lifelong love for animals, particularly cats and dogs.

Locate on Walk:

• Naming Wall (Right Wall), 3-5