Jane Alexander
President & CEO
Jane Clover Alexander, CFRE, has an immense love for her community, a strong belief in the power of giving and an enduring interest in what makes people tick.
She was tapped as President and CEO of the Community Foundation in August 2012. Since she began her tenure, the Foundation has grown to $60 million in assets, with more than 250 funds –more than double its size in 2012. It recently completed an expanded vision, mission and footprint, which led to its new naming, Community Foundation for Mississippi, in November 2017.
New public-private partnerships shepherded by the Community Foundation have seen the launch and ongoing success of the Mississippi Book Festival, remodeling and improving the Farish Street soup kitchen for Central United Methodist Church, blight remediation through Revitalize Mississippi and Action for Jackson, the renovation of Thalia Mara Hall auditorium and Refill Café, the new community café addressing workforce development. Most recently, the Foundation has housed the initiative between the Mississippi Governor’s Office, Mayor of the City of Jackson and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to study and identify challenges facing the Jackson Public School system, and suggest community-based solutions to address those challenges.
She currently serves on the boards of the Southeastern Council of Foundations and the Mississippi Alliance of Nonprofits and Philanthropy and is a past board member of the Rotary Club of Jackson and past president of the Mississippi chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She is a member of the CEO Forum of SECF, was a state captain for Foundations on the Hill, and serves on SECF’s Strategic Planning, Government Relations and Program Committees. She was elected to membership in International Women’s Forum in 2017.
A former magazine editor, Jane was editor of Mississippi Magazine and founded South Magazine, about the people, places and popular culture of the region. She taught journalism at Mississippi College and worked for Communication Arts Company creative agency. Her nonprofit professional experience includes work with Easter Seals, Millsaps College and the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. She has served on the boards of the Oaks House Museum, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and New Stage Theatre, among others.
A native of Jackson, Jane attended St. Andrews Episcopal School, Jackson Prep and Millsaps College. She earned a master’s degree in journalism with an emphasis in nonprofit public relations from the University of Mississippi. She also studied at the Else School of Management, St. John’s College, Oxford and the University of London.
Jane’s husband, Brent, is a public policy consultant and they are the parents of twin 12-year-old girls: Elizabeth Chandler and Emily Clare. They are communicants of St. James Episcopal Church in Jackson.
The daughter of longtime community leaders and activists, Jane believes her work at the Community Foundation pays tribute to the legacy of service her parents instilled in her from the tender age of 3.