Jane Sanders

{{short description|American social worker and college president}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| image = Jane O'Meara Sanders (48570900917).jpg

| caption = Sanders in August 2019

| office = 4th President of Burlington College

| term_start = March 2004

| term_end = September 2011

| predecessor = Mary Clancy

| successor = Christine Plunkett

| office1 = President of Goddard College

| term_start1 = 1996

| term_end1 = 1997

| predecessor1 = Richard Greene

| successor1 = Barbara Mossberg

| birth_name = Mary Jane O'Meara

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1950|1|3}}

| birth_place = New York City, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| spouse = Dave Driscoll (divorced)
{{Marriage|Bernie Sanders|May 28, 1988}}

| children = 3, including Carina

| education = Goddard College (BA)
Union Institute and University (MA, PhD)

}}

Mary Jane O'Meara Sanders (née O'Meara, formerly Driscoll; born January 3, 1950) is an American social worker, college administrator, activist, and political strategist. She was provost and interim president of Goddard College (1996–1997) and president of Burlington College (2004–2011).{{cite web |last=Greenhouse |first=Emily |title=Getting to Know Jane Sanders, Wife of Bernie |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-05-12/getting-to-know-jane-sanders-wife-of-bernie |access-date=January 19, 2016 |publisher=Bloomberg |date=May 12, 2015}}{{cite web|last=Felsenthal |first=Carol |title=Jane O'Meara Sanders, future first lady? |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/256523-jane-omeara-sanders-future-first-lady/ |work=The Hill |date=October 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022084343/http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/256523-jane-omeara-sanders-future-first-lady |archive-date=October 22, 2015 |url-status=live |location=Washington, D.C. |issn=1521-1568 |quote=She has been, her husband says, one of his key advisers ... }} In 2017, she founded the think tank The Sanders Institute.{{cite news |last=Hensch|first=Mark|date=June 7, 2017 |title=Jane Sanders starts group to boost 'progressive voices' |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/news/336763-jane-sanders-starts-group-to-boost-progressive-voices/|work=The Hill|access-date=June 7, 2017}} She has been married to U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders since 1988. She has also served as the first lady of Burlington, Vermont, during her husband's term as mayor.

Education and personal life

Sanders was born Mary Jane O'Meara on January 3, 1950, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York City, as one of the five children of Bernadette Joan (Sheridan) and Benedict P. O'Meara.{{cite web |url=https://www.yahoo.com/politics/being-married-to-bernie-1291469214744630.html |title=Being married to Bernie |date=November 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151110064714/http://www.yahoo.com/politics/being-married-to-bernie-1291469214744630.html |archive-date=November 10, 2015 |url-status=live |first=Lisa |last=Belkin |publisher=Yahoo! }}{{cite web |url=http://www.fredericksburg.com/obituaries/bernadette-o-meara/article_b3875af2-2e4f-5f4f-af8c-c3dfe38526b4.html |title=Obituaries: Bernadette O'Meara |work=The Free Lance–Star |oclc=31810388 |date=May 6, 2015 |access-date=March 12, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://webcitation.org/query?date=2016-03-12&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fredericksburg.com%2Fobituaries%2Fbernadette-o-meara%2Farticle_b3875af2-2e4f-5f4f-af8c-c3dfe38526b4.html%3Fmode%3Djqm |archive-date=March 12, 2016 |df=mdy-all }} She is of Irish descent and was raised Catholic.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thejournal.ie/jane-sanders-interview-4256567-Sep2018/|title = Jane Sanders: 'Bernie would have beaten Donald Trump; he hasn't decided yet if he'll run in 2020'| date=September 30, 2018 }} She attended Catholic schools, including Saint Saviour High School, before attending the University of Tennessee. O'Meara dropped out of school and moved back to Brooklyn with her first husband, David Driscoll. In 1975, they moved to Vermont when Driscoll's employer, IBM, transferred him. The couple divorced in 1980. She has three children (Heather Titus,{{cite web|url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/139648-who-are-bernie-sanders-stepchildren-the-vermont-senator-usually-stays-mum-about-his-family|title=Bernie Sanders' Stepchildren Are Leaders, Too|first=Kayla|last=Solsbak|website=Bustle|date=February 4, 2016 }} Carina Driscoll,{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/02/27/589279597/bernie-sanders-political-dynasty-senators-son-stepdaughter-run-for-office|title=Bernie Sanders Political Dynasty? Senator's Son, Stepdaughter Run For Office|website=NPR.org}} and David Driscoll{{Cite web|url=https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/carina-driscoll-says-shell-run-for-burlington-mayor-her-way/Content?oid=11038297|title = Carina Driscoll Says She'll Run for Burlington Mayor 'Her' Way}}) from her marriage with Driscoll, who were later adopted by Sanders.{{cite web |publisher=CNN |date=May 27, 2015 |title=Bernie Sanders Fast Facts |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/27/us/bernie-sanders-fast-facts/ |access-date=August 19, 2015}}{{cite web |publisher=Yahoo |date=November 3, 2015 |first=Lisa |last=Belkin |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/being-married-to-bernie-1291469214744630.html |title=Being Married to Bernie |access-date=June 27, 2017 }}

O'Meara finished her college degree at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont, with a bachelor's in social work. She met Bernie Sanders in 1981, ten days before his first campaign victory as Mayor of Burlington, and again at his victory party; the couple married in 1988.

In 1996, she earned a doctorate in leadership studies in politics and education from Union Institute & University headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.{{cite news |last1=Graham |first1=David |title=What Killed Burlington College? |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/what-happened-at-burlington-college/482973/ |access-date=May 17, 2016 |website=The Atlantic|date=May 16, 2016}}{{cite web |last=Lindly |first=Beth |title=Jane O'Meara Sanders, Bernie's Wife |url=http://heavy.com/news/2015/08/jane-sanders-bernie-sanders-president-wife-age-burlington-socialist/ |access-date=January 24, 2016 |publisher=Heavy.com |date=August 25, 2015}}

Sanders is Roman Catholic.{{Cite news |url=https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/2015/08/17/jane-sanders-talks-bernie-politics-winning/31715059/|title=Jane Sanders on Bernie and politics|last=Stigliani|first=Emilie Teresa|website=Burlington Free Press|language=en|access-date=2020-03-01}}

Career

Early in her career, Sanders worked in the Juvenile Division of the Burlington Police Department, then was a community organizer with the King Street Area Youth Center, and then was a volunteer with AmeriCorps VISTA.

From 1981 to 1991, Sanders served as founding director of the Mayor's Youth Office and Department Head in the City of Burlington. She was also active in K-12 education, was elected as a school board commissioner, and was a founding member of the Women's Council & the Film Commission. In 1991, her husband, Bernie Sanders, was elected to U.S. Congress. From 1991 to 1995, she worked in his office on a volunteer basis.

In 1996, Sanders was appointed provost and interim president of her alma mater, Goddard College, to help the college through a difficult period. The board, faculty, staff, students, and Sanders worked together to improve the accreditation, finances, and governance of the institution.Burlington Free Press; August 31, 1996, Just Jane: Activist Roots Pull Sanders Home to Goddard College"

From 2004 through 2011, Sanders was president of Burlington College, a small liberal arts college founded in 1972 for non-traditional students. It closed due to financial problems in 2016.{{ cite web | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/what-happened-at-burlington-college/482973/ |title=What Killed Burlington College? |first=David |last=Graham |date=May 16, 2016 |website=The Atlantic }}

As senior partner in Burlington-based consulting firm Leadership Strategies, O'Meara served as a political and educational consultant for federal, state, and local political campaigns.{{cite journal|last=Smith |first=Robert |title=Q&A: Jane Sanders, President of Burlington College |url=http://vbsr.org/news/news_qa_jane_sanders_president_of_burlington_college |access-date=March 12, 2016 |journal=Vermont Business Magazine |date=October 2007 |page=51 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106220413/http://vbsr.org/news/news_qa_jane_sanders_president_of_burlington_college |archive-date=January 6, 2015 |url-status=dead |publisher=Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility |volume=35 |issue=12 |issn=0897-7925 }}

Sanders was instrumental in founding the Sanders Institute, a progressive think tank that launched in June 2017, and is one of its 11 original fellows. Like the other fellows, she does not receive payment for her work, although she does receive compensation for travel expenses.

=Adviser and aide to Bernie Sanders=

Bernie Sanders has described his wife as "one of [his] key advisers", and he has employed her at various times as "an administrative assistant, spokeswoman, policy adviser, chief of staff, and media buyer". In a 1996 article in The Washington Post, she was credited with helping him draft "more than 50 pieces of legislation".{{cite news |last=McCarthy |first=Colman |title=A Marriage of Ideas and Service |archive-date=January 29, 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 3, 1996 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1996/12/03/a-marriage-of-ideas-and-service/e929aec1-8cde-45af-9c9a-83c2319ea801/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129025257/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1996/12/03/a-marriage-of-ideas-and-service/e929aec1-8cde-45af-9c9a-83c2319ea801/ |url-status=live |issn=0190-8286 |df=mdy-all }}

She has served in Sanders's Congressional office as Chief of Staff and as Policy and Press Adviser, and also serves as an Alternate Commissioner for the Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission.{{cite web|title=About the Commission|date=August 14, 2012|url=http://www.tllrwdcc.org/about-the-comission|access-date=April 15, 2016}}{{cite web|title=U.S. Individual Income Tax Return|url=https://go.berniesanders.com/page/-/Bernie%20Taxes%20Full.pdf|access-date=April 15, 2016}}

=Burlington College presidency=

In 2004, Sanders was named President of Burlington College, a private, non-profit liberal arts school founded in 1972 in Vermont. She increased the small college's fundraising. During her tenure as President, Burlington had an endowment of "about $150,000", and fundraising revenue had increased from about $25,000 when Sanders first arrived to $1.25 million by 2011. In 2010, Sanders oversaw the purchase of property formerly owned and occupied by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. The College based the real estate purchase on projections that enrollment would rapidly grow from fewer than 200 to as many as 750 students, with a corresponding income increase from tuition fees.{{cite web |last=Tyson |first=Charlie |title=$10 Million Gamble Buying a new campus sends Burlington College deep into debt. Can it survive? |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/08/25/costly-campus-and-erratic-enrollment-strategies-have-vermont-college-edge |access-date=January 24, 2016 |publisher=Inside Higher Ed |date=August 25, 2014}}

In 2011, the College's Board of Trustees, while crediting Sanders with acquiring a permanent campus for the 200‑student college, called a meeting for September 2011 and accepted Sanders's resignation. "We reached a decision which I believe is best for both the College and me," Sanders said after the meeting, "The board and I have different visions for the future and that's perfectly fine."{{cite news|last=Totten |first=Shay |title=President in Peril |archive-date=September 6, 2015 |work=Seven Days |date=September 21, 2001 |url=http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/president-in-peril/Content?oid=2144377 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906132245/http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/president-in-peril/Content?oid=2144377 |url-status=live |location=Burlington, Vermont }}{{cite news|title=President of Burlington College resigns Monday |archive-date=January 19, 2016 |url=http://www.benningtonbanner.com/news/ci_18983463 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119211632/http://www.benningtonbanner.com/news/ci_18983463 |url-status=live |work=Bennington Banner |date=September 26, 2011 }}{{cite news|last1=Severns|first1=Maggie|title=What happened at Sanders U.|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/bernie-sanders-jane-vermont-burlington-college-219114|access-date=May 25, 2016|publisher=Politico|date=February 11, 2016}} On departure, she received the title of President Emeritus and a $200,000 severance, consisting of one year's pay, along with certain retirement and bonus payments.{{Cite web|url=https://vtdigger.org/2014/09/17/attack-ad-hits-sen-sanders-demands-jane-sanders-return-golden-parachute/|title=In new ad, Sanders' nemesis Skip Vallee demands Jane Sanders return 'golden parachute'|date=2014-09-17|website=VTDigger|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-13}} With the College unable to collect on some promised pledges after Sanders had resigned, and the enrollment increase plans failing, the Diocese settled the loan debt with the College in 2015 for $996,000, less than the agreed amount, and with $1 million of the repayment made in shares of an unidentified LLC company.{{cite web |last=True |first=Morgan |title=Catholic church takes loss in loan settlement with Burlington College |url=http://www.vermontbiz.com/news/december/catholic-church-takes-loss-loan-settlement-burlington-college |access-date=September 15, 2016 |work=Vermont Business Magazine |date=August 23, 2015}}