As executive director of the Women’s Fund of Omaha, Jo leads a thirteen-member team to address gender-based inequities in the Omaha community. In our conversation, we talk about the work of the Women’s Fund of Omaha, including the need for responsible, appropriate, and necessary education about sexual and reproductive health literacy, workplace and economic equity, freedom from violence, and women in leadership. Jo also shares her experience in the electoral race for the District 7 seat on the Douglas County Commissioners board and Jo discusses a new statewide, independent digital news outlet called, Flatwater Free Press.

Before joining The Women’s Fund of Omaha, Jo worked with the Coalition for a Strong Nebraska (CSN) helping citizens participate more fully in the public policy advocacy process. She is also an award-winning media relations professional and journalist with experience at the agency Emspace+Lovgren, the University of Nebraska Medical Center public relations department, and as a television reporter/anchor for Omaha’s KPTM Fox 42 News. Jo has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia, a bachelor’s degree in psychology and African American studies from Washington University in St. Louis, and a certificate in public health from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Jo enjoys community service and is the current board president for the Omaha Public Library Foundation and serves on the Boards of Fontanelle Forest and the Friends of KIOS, a board on which show host, Stuart Chittenden, also serves. She also is a founding board member of the Nebraska Journalism Trust which will soon launch a statewide, independent digital news outlet called, Flatwater Free Press.