Get to know me…

Jeannie Sager

Where did you grow up?

So I actually grew up in Orlando, Florida. Right in the heart, DisneyWorld, haha. I ended up in Indiana on a fellowship to study at what was then the center on philanthropy at Indiana University. I came to study, essentially, like a liberal arts program where we explore the world through a philanthropic lens, and it was a really unique fellowship. It was meant, not necessarily for folks like me who ended up having a career in the non-profit, it was actually meant to inspire future doctors, and lawyers, and future Fortune 500 CEO’s, so people outside of the non-profit center to really understand the power of philanthropy and how to envision a world where you could activate sort of that voluntary action for the public good. How you solve problems.

Where did you attend school?

I got my undergraduate degree at Rollins College, which is a liberal arts school in Winter Park, Florida. Then, when I came to do the fellowship here at Indiana University at IUPUI I ended up enrolling in a masters program in philanthropic studies, so I received my masters degree from Indiana University at IUPUI. Now, I’m actually serving as Chair of the Indiana University Alumni Association’s board of managers.

What keeps you in Indiana?

So, as you can imagine, I thought I was going to do this fellowship for 10 months, and then I ended up staying and doing the masters degree. I ended up meeting a Hoosier, and settling down here. So what keeps me Indiana is that I do think it’s a really great place to raise children and have a family. What I love about Indianapolis in particular is that it feels like a big town, but with all the major city amenities, so I always feel like we have access to all the things that you could have in a bigger city except that it’s just more reasonable. And I love the people. I love the Hoosier hospitality. I love the community here. Especially the people kind of in the space that I work in, in terms of not-for-profits. I think they’re very committed to this idea of service and service leadership, and you can feel it here in the state of Indiana.

When did your interest in advocacy start?

So, I’ve always had an interest in advocacy, but I never really made the time to do it. In my current day job role I actually get to study gender, in particular women’s philanthropy. I didn’t realize, and I think it’s a season of life kind of thing, my kids are grown now, and so like many women my age they are finding themselves having more time to devote themselves to passion work. For me, that advocacy work was really sparked by the 2016 election. I really was kind of caught up in this idea that we were going to have the first female president. I was really inspired by her candidacy, and where we were headed. With the events and the outcome of the 2016 election, I was just feeling really discouraged, but then I understood in a different way the role I had to play, not only for my children, but for my gender. I really wanted to explore more deeply how I could best do that. It’s something that I never had to really confront before, until that historic moment.

What drew you towards women4change?

I find it interesting that so much of my personal journey kind of mirrors what we see in the research and what we hear from other women. So, for me, and for so many other women, it was another women. One of my mentors was involved in the founding of Women4Change, and she, I think, was actually really hoping to diversify who was going to be apart of the leadership for Women4Change, and diversify in all the different ways. In particular, I think for her, she was thinking about age. She had reached out to me, she knew how I was feeling about the election, and what had happened, so she has suggested that I consider a leadership role with Women4Change. At least certainly meet with, at that time it was a very small group, and they were getting ready to do strategic planning, and understanding what was next. So, I was apart of that group, and really committed to what they were trying to do. It didn’t take me long to really understand that all politics is local. If we were going to make a difference, if I was going to make a difference, I really needed to focus on Indiana, and what we were able to do for Hoosier women. If we could be successful here, that was the start of being more successful on a national stage.

What are some causes you really stand behind right now?

Right now I am very committed to women and girls. You may have heard from our research that less than 2% of charitable giving in the United States goes to organizations that support women and girls. What I believe whole-heartedly is that organizations lead by women, or who place women at the center of the work they do, understand that when you support women you lift all the votes. Because generally, when women think about their community it goes beyond just themselves, so I just feel like its the most impactful investment you can make, philanthropically, is to invest in women. Because largely their investing in their whole community, so that’s where I’ve been putting almost all of my energy, outside of Indiana University. There’s a real intersectionality in that, because if you’re supporting women and girls then you’re supporting all those things, like, women and girls are leading the way in terms of climate change, in terms of reproductive health, they’re leading the way in terms of food scarcity. They’re at the forefront of all of these other really important movements and needs.

What are some things you do outside of being on the board at women4change?

I’m an avid reader. I always have at least 3 or 4 books sitting beside me at all times. I always have a non-fiction and a fiction going at the same time, haha. And, I love to travel. Any chance I get, fortunately, my job requires a lot of travel, so I try and make sure any city I’m in I get to see something, and I try and go some place new every year. At least one place I’ve never been before. Like today I am in Montreal, Canada, and this is my first time in Montreal. I have fallen in love with Montreal, it’s an amazing city. It has all the Canadian good-graces, but with this real European charm, so I’m loving it.