On-Purpose

Janine White

Janine White is a youth development and social justice professional with over five years of experience working with non-profit organizations and higher education institutions in the US and Eastern Europe. A certified yoga instructor, Janine has also taught children, teenagers, and adults in studios and schools in New York City for the past two years. She connects her practice with her professional experience by leading workshops with diverse groups of youth and staff of mission-driven organizations. She is currently building a social enterprise that uses the tools of yoga and mindfulness to promote leadership development, team-building, and wellness.  Until recently she worked as an associate program manager at the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies at Rutgers University-Newark. There she supported policy development and program implementation with the Newark City of Learning Collaborative (NCLC), a citywide collective impact initiative aiming to increase the postsecondary attainment of Newark residents. Prior to this position, she served as a program coordinator at Columbia University's Institute for the Study of Human Rights, working on their Education and Gender and Human Rights Programs. Janine's capacity-building work has also taken her to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Georgia, where she partnered with local NGOs to lead youth programs focused on human rights education and peacebuilding. Janine completed her bachelor's in history and German at Rutgers University and her master's in international affairs at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. Raised in New Jersey as the daughter of a German mother and American father, her bilingual and bicultural childhood opened her eyes at a young age to the challenges and opportunities of diversity. This influence planted the seed for her passion for promoting intercultural connections, particularly among youth. Janine enjoys traveling whenever she has the opportunity, visiting family and friends around the world.

On Purpose Placements