Her Story
About Janice
Janice Marie Clark is an ordained Presbyterian (USA) minister with a career dedicated to fostering hope, connection, and stronger family life. Throughout her career, she has been driven by a commitment to helping children and families thrive. Her professional journey has included serving as a chaplain at HCA Florida North Florida Hospital and spending 13 years as a chaplain at Haven Hospice, providing spiritual care and guidance during life’s most challenging transitions. In addition to her chaplaincy work, Janice has held numerous pastoral leadership roles, including children’s minister, associate pastor, and assistant pastor, where she led programmatic ministry, youth and children’s programs, and discipleship initiatives. Janice’s foundation in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences at UGA has informed a multifaceted career in both education and ministry. She served as a public school teacher, a consumer and realtor marketing educator for Atlanta Gaslight Company, and even as a missionary English teacher in Japan, where she taught conversational English. While pursuing her Master of Education at the University of Georgia, she also worked as a teaching assistant, exemplifying her commitment to mentorship and lifelong learning. In medical chaplaincy, she mentored medical students. Her work consistently reflects a focus on meaningful relationships, community development, and improving quality of life for families and individuals. Now at age 65, Janice has entered an entrepreneurial and community-focused phase of life. She actively partners with three institutes of higher learning and volunteers with the Appalachian Studies Center at the University of North Georgia. A lifelong Christian, her faith continues to guide her endeavors, both through church involvement and through her ongoing dedication to Family and Consumer Sciences to provide innovative leadership for an ever-changing society to keep up with cultural needs and to advocate for others. Janice’s career stands as a testament to her unwavering commitment to service, leadership, and the enrichment of the communities she serves.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Janice
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think my success has to do with maintaining integrity and trying to focus on helping children and families have a better life. Throughout my career, whether in ministry, chaplaincy, or education, I've always kept that central goal in mind. My work has been about making meaningful connections through ministry to improve family life and give people hope, and I believe staying true to that purpose while maintaining my integrity has been the foundation of whatever success I've achieved.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received would be to value every human being. This principle has guided me throughout my work in ministry, chaplaincy, and education. Whether I was serving as a hospital chaplain, working with hospice patients and their families, teaching children, or serving in pastoral roles, remembering to value every human being has been fundamental to how I approach my work and the people I serve.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Prioritize and maintain in person or phone contacts with people as much as possible while minimizing reliance on machines. Human contact facilitates caring in a powerful way!
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Determining the most effective means of communication to support advocacy for people. Discernment about how to use the positive role of digitalization is still being evaluated and it is unregulated. We have to be our own regulators. I hope to promote responsible use of digitalization, protect consumers and families, and use the internet for as many positive purposes as possible.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My greatest compass is my Christian faith. Everything I do, both in my work and personal life, is guided by this foundation. I facilitate my faith through the church and through my focus on Family and Consumer Sciences that I learned through the University of Georgia. My faith has been the driving force behind my ministry work, my chaplaincy service, and my commitment to helping children and families have better lives. It's not just a value I hold, it's the lens through which I see and approach everything.
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