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Women Of Impact: An Agent Of Change
Jane Black molds the community for the better.
October 23, 2007
Jane Black has devoted her life to helping others. To her, it's a matter of giving back and
affecting change. "Each of the groups or causes I've gotten involved in is dear to me," she says.
"It helps you become part of your community, and it's important to me that the community – whether
it's Atlanta or any place in the world – be healthy. You need to help mold it and hopefully in a
different way than if you weren't involved."
Black's causes are many, but there are several that are nearest and dearest to her; two are
education-related. "I never would have guessed that helping education would have been one of those
causes I would have chosen," she says with a laugh. "I was never that enthused with school."
She is chairman of the board of trustees of the EARTH University Foundation, which supports
the Costa Rican nonprofit university. The university strives to create leaders who will help shape
the direction of environmental protection and development in Latin America and throughout the
world.
"It represents all the values that my father [Emory Cocke, president of Sunni-Citrus Products
Co.] tried to impart to me – ethical values and entrepreneurship. We have students from 23
countries, and every one of them as well as our graduates has a great story and they will change
the world." Her second educational cause is a bit closer to home.
The Ben Franklin Academy is a private school located on Emory University's campus and assists
high school students who have learning disabilities. "It's just common sense what they do," she
says. "They just make an incredible difference in the lives of these students. Their work has
affected me so much."
Black is also involved with the Atlanta Botanical Garden ("I adore gardens in nature, and one
of our sons has a Ph.D. in ecology. The gardens do a lot of its work in conservation.
I'm honored to be involved."), the High Museum of Art ("That was my mother's number one
interest.") and Piedmont Hospital ("I love Piedmont Hospital, and it's important to have a spot in
Atlantans' psyche that there is a first class place to go for your health care").
It takes Black a while to define what she personally gets from volunteering, because she is
more concerned with giving back then getting. "What motivates me," she says, "is that volunteering
gives me stimulation. It enables me to keep learning, and I get to participate in change."
