Jane Wood is vice president of the Jacksonville Sister Cities Association.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I will be providing support to our new president, Dr. Betty Flinchum of University of North Florida. Because my professional background is in communications, event planning and project development, I’ll be bringing those skills to the organization.”
WHAT DOES THE JACKSONVILLE SISTER CITIES ASSOCIATION DO?
“We develop relationships between the people of Jacksonville and the people of our six sister cities: Bahia Blanca, Argentina; Masan, Korea; Murmansk, Russia; Nantes, France; Port Elizabeth, South Africa and Yingkou, China. That is done in many areas including arts, culture, medical, education, professional and government. We try to connect people in a wide variety of ways.”
HOW DID SHE GET INVOLVED IN JACKSONVILLE SISTER CITIES?
“I started in 1988. The reason I joined is that I had been an exchange student in college in Germany and I wanted to continue to connect with people in other countries.”
RELATED EXPERIENCE?
She was community affairs manager at AT&T Broadband. Woods has experience in public relations, media, special events, marketing and promotion, television production, fund-raising, grant writing, strategic planning and website development. She now runs Jane R. Wood Consulting, a public relations firm.
HOW DO YOU THINK SISTER CITIES HELPS JACKSONVILLE?
“It helps make us more of an international city. We constantly have delegations and visitors coming from six different international cities to Jacksonville. It is increased exposure of what Jacksonville has to offer in business and trade and it makes great connections with our education and cultural communities.”
CIVIC INVOLVEMENT
She has been involved in Jacksonville Sister Cities for 14 years. She is past president of the Jacksonville Sister Cities Association; chaired the Murmansk, Russia committee; is a past commissioner of Jacksonville’s International Development Commission; a past chairperson of the Duval Public Education Foundation; past vice chair of the Advisory Council for the Department of Continuing Education at University of North Florida; and a 1993 graduate of Leadership Jacksonville.
RECENT HAPPENINGS?
She was elected in July to the Sister Cities International board of directors and will serve a three-year term.
WHAT IS SCI?
SCI is a citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between the United States and international communities to increase global cooperation at the local level. SCI works to promote cultural understanding, social development and economic growth.
WHAT WILL YOU DO ON THE SCI BOARD?
“Basically we provide guidance and set policy for the organization at the national level. They’ve also asked me to chair their marketing committee and I am working on their fundraising committee.”
BIRTHPLACE
Astoria, Ore.
MOVED TO JACKSONVILLE?
In 1976 with her family.
COLLEGE
She has a bachelor’s degree in education with major in history and minor in English from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in education from the University of North Florida.
RESIDES
Mandarin.
FAMILY
She has been married to Terry — a former City Council member — for five years. She has two sons, Jonathan Fleetwood, 28, and Brian Fleetwood, 24.
HOBBIES
Reading, traveling, and volunteering.
FAVORITES
Wood cites “The Passion of Artemisia,” by Susan Vreeland as a book she would recommend. When dining out, she prefers Seven Bridges Grille and Brewery on the Southside. Her favorite movie is “Goonies.” “I love [director Steven] Spielberg and it was filmed in Astoria, Ore. It was a wonderful story.” Her favorite place to visit is Switzerland. “If I ever disappear, look for me in Interlaken, Switzerland.” When relaxing at home, she enjoys tuning into “The West Wing.”
— by Michele Newbern Gillis