Janet Cowell

Editorial Summary

(from candidate's website) Janet Cowell is running for State Treasurer as the only candidate who has created jobs and invested in NC's future. That's what the Treasurer's job is all about. It's about protecting pensions and investing in education and jobs for the people of North Carolina. As a business investment expert Janet Cowell has helped create thousands of North Carolina jobs. As a state Senator she has protected NC pensions and invested in our future by raising teacher pay, improving schools, and making college more affordable for NC families. Janet’s upbringing was steeped in a tradition of service to others. Her father, a Methodist minister who specialized in starting new churches, took his young family throughout the South and beyond as part of his calling. Janet’s mother had her own special ministry – that of a public school teacher. It was in this family and in her childhood church communities that Janet learned the values of honesty and hard work. Janet’s parents emphasized education for all their children and sacrificed so that each one could go to the school of their choice anywhere in the country. Janet followed her siblings to the Northeast and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Some years later, she completed her education by earning a Masters in Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business, one of the top business schools in America, and a Masters in International Studies from the Lauder Institute. In 1989 Janet had the opportunity to visit and study in China. During this trip the Chinese Democracy Movement erupted around her. This tremendous social struggle inspired her interest in American Democracy and public service in a new way. Forced as a foreigner to watch political events as a bystander, Janet decided when she returned to America that she would become an active participant in our Democratic system. Janet began her career as a securities analyst at the Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (better known as HSBC). Later, she joined Lehman Brothers, where her responsibilities included writing investment reports on bank stocks for large money managers in the United States, Europe and Asia. Janet’s work as a securities analyst helped open up the Asian investment market to more Americans and ensured that money managers made wise investments in solid companies that would provide healthy returns for millions of retirees and other investors here in the United States. The time Janet spent as a securities analyst remains one of the most satisfying experiences of her professional career. More recently, Janet worked as a consultant for a number of Fortune 500 companies including Pfizer, International Paper, and State Farm Insurance. Janet helped identify mission, vision and strategy and align employee work to make businesses more effective. In addition to her work in the private sector, Janet has also consulted with local and federal government clients, including the Department of Defense, Federal Highway Administration and cities and towns around NC. Janet has worked in business development with local companies such as SJF Ventures, a venture capital firm located in Durham. SJF Ventures invests in clean technology companies that also provide good jobs. Her work at SJF helped entrepreneurs to create high-paying jobs and grow our economy. Janet has always been a clear and independent thinker. As a member of the Raleigh City Council and the State Senate, Janet came to the table with lots of ideas for making government work more efficiently. The result has been millions of dollars of savings in taxpayer dollars. On the City Council Janet led the way in streamlining trash collection. By working together with city staff, workers and citizens, she was able to save taxpayer dollars and divert waste away from landfills by increasing recycling efforts. Janet has maintained good relations with Raleigh’s solid waste workers throughout the change despite challenges in the implementation – frustration with hours, pay, and new equipment. She also worked closely with constituents throughout this significant change initiative to address their concerns and ideas. Her leadership kept Raleigh growing without taking away from the unique and human qualities that people want to find in their town. Now serving in the State Senate, Janet has a solid record of cutting government waste, investing in new technology, and empowering local governments to decide how to grow their communities. Janet led the way in the General Assembly to bring a new information technology system that is synchronizing data and communication between the different divisions of state government. Among her many other efforts, Janet successfully fought for legislation requiring the recycling of computer equipment which, once implemented fully will save taxpayers money and reduce the need for landfills. This recycling program is being hailed as a model for the entire Southeast. Janet also successfully guided a bill through the legislature which is saving taxpayers money by lowering state government’s annual utility bill by requiring water and energy efficiency in all state government buildings. These changes are increasing the productivity of state government while lowering costs, have been estimated to be able to save taxpayers at least $200 million in coming years.