Our guest today is Sister Janice Vanderneck, the Founding Director of Casa San José. She is a Catholic religious sister with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden, Pennsylvania. Sister Janice has worked in Latin America, educating and organizing community members to think critically about power structures, oppression, and political engagement. In the United States, she worked for decades as a religion teacher and principal at Catholic elementary and high schools in the Dioceses of Pittsburgh and Altoona-Johnstown in Pennsylvania and the Archdiocese of Miami, Florida. Sister Janice is currently the Director of Civic Engagement at Casa San José
Sister Janice has received numerous awards for her extraordinary service. They include: the Michael McGrady Award for Service at the Art Rooney Awards Dinner in 2017, the OHTLI Award for 2017 given by the Secretariat of the Mexican Government for service to the Mexican community in the United States. OHTLI is a word in the native Aztec language that means “path”. The intention is that the recipient of the OHTLI award opens a path for others. Sr. Janice also received the 2016 El Sol Award from the Hispanic Attorneys Committee of the Allegheny Bar Association and the 2021 Volunteer Preceptor of the Year (IPPE) awarded by the School of Pharmacy of the University of Pittsburgh. In November of 2022, she was recognized as one of the recipients of the National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors of Hispanic Ministry 30th Anniversary Regional Recognition Awards.