Dr. Janet Powers

Jan’s career, spanning many decades has included Professor Emerita at Gettysburg College. She taught for 49 years in the fields of South Asian literature and civilization, women, and peace studies. She has published articles in many periodicals, poetry in many small journals, including Earth’s Daughters, The Memory Box and The Little Red Tree Anthology. She also was the author of the novel “Blossoms on the Olive Tree: Israeli and Palestinian Women Working for Peace.” Additionally, for three years, Jan taught English to local teachers in Kanpetlet, Myanmar. Jan writes about many topics including comparative religion, Abrahamic religions, other religions, atheism and humanism, mythology, and folklore. Jan is also an award-winning photographer, using her many travels as her subject.

Jan was part of an Interfaith Center for Peace and Justice committee that formed MSAC in 1995. Many people didn’t think mediation would take off in Adams County, but Jan had a vision for how the community could better work together and she stuck with it over the last 25 years.

To spread the word about mediation, Jan initiated meetings with people in the court system, PA State Police and county law enforcement groups, Gettysburg Police Department, Adams County District Judges, and other groups. She created and presented trainings, wrote articles, attended hundreds of meetings, applied for grants, stayed up on technology, and tried to improve the board and MSAC in every way possible. MSAC is indebted to her. A kinder, better communicating community is indebted to her.