Janice Kenyatta

Janice Kenyatta is an award-winning author, entrepreneur, and retired educator and school administrator whose career spans more than four decades of dedicated service to education, student development, and community empowerment. Her professional journey began in the classroom, where she spent 28 years teaching business education at the high school level and helping students develop the knowledge, confidence, and practical skills needed to pursue meaningful careers. She later transitioned into educational leadership, serving in a supervisory capacity overseeing career and technical education teachers and programs within a large school district. Over the course of a 34-year tenure with the district, she demonstrated a strong commitment to instructional excellence, professional development, and preparing young people for opportunities beyond the classroom. Following her retirement from the district, Kenyatta continued serving students and the education community for another eight years at Northampton Community College, where her responsibilities included career coaching, Tech Prep leadership, and managing experiential learning and internship initiatives. Through these roles, she built relationships with employers and community organizations while helping students connect their academic experiences with real-world career opportunities.

Kenyatta's educational foundation includes a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Business and Distributive Education from Montclair State University in New Jersey. She also earned supervisory certifications in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, complementing her extensive experience in educational administration and career and technical education. Her expertise encompasses career counseling, student support, resume development, experiential learning, workforce preparation, program leadership, and relationship building. Her accomplishments in experiential education include establishing and leading an internship office at Northampton Community College and expanding connections between students and external organizations. Her work in this area earned professional recognition and opportunities to share her experience at national conferences and educational symposia. After retiring from her career in education, Kenyatta redirected her passion for teaching and mentorship toward authorship and entrepreneurship. She is the author of the multiple award-winning children's book Just As It Is!, published in English and Spanish, which follows a young African American girl learning to love and accept her natural features while appreciating differences in people from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The broader Just As It Is! collection, which includes educational and interactive resources, reflects Kenyatta's commitment to helping children develop self-love, confidence, kindness, inclusion, and respect for others.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Kenyatta remains deeply committed to service, advocacy, and creating a positive impact in the lives of others. Her work encourages parents, caregivers, educators, counselors, and other adults to help children develop healthy self-esteem and an appreciation for cultural differences from an early age. She is also passionate about encouraging women over 60 to recognize that new chapters, opportunities, and personal growth remain possible after life's challenges and transitions. Her commitment to community extends to her previous service on the Board of Directors of the YWCA of Bethlehem, where she contributed to the Social Justice and Empowerment and Governance committees, as well as her support of philanthropic causes including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the American Cancer Society's breast cancer research efforts. Kenyatta describes her motivation as a desire to contribute positively to humanity and to make a meaningful difference wherever her talents and experiences can be of service. She encourages others to pursue work they genuinely love and approach their careers and lives with passion, purpose, and a willingness to inspire others. Through education, literature, mentorship, entrepreneurship, and community involvement, she continues to build upon a legacy centered on empowerment, inclusion, lifelong learning, and meaningful service.