Janice Guider brings experience and expertise to RPG ExCom

 By Linda Sullivan

Janice Guider says she was inspired to become more involved in public service by the 2019 death of the great civil rights leader and long-time Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings. Cummings’ death motivated her to become active in the NAACP serving DuPage, Kane, Will, and NW Cook Counties. There she put her long-time interest in healthcare to good use. She joined the NAACP’s Health Committee, taking it from an essentially dormant status to a committee with eight people. The committee promotes healthcare literacy, works to mitigate existing healthcare disparities in the U.S., and does outreach to community partners.

That outreach to community partners and Guider’s awareness of the intersectionality between the environment and health sparked her interest in the Sierra Club. As an RPG ExCom member, she says she hopes to promote awareness and spearhead policy to create a healthy environment and improve human health.

Guider has lived in Naperville since 1983. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from Benedictine University and is an inductee and lifetime member of Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health. She is a distinguished Paul Ambrose Scholar. Guider is also a voter registrar and previously served on the board of the Naperville League of Women Voters.

Janice has two sons and three grandchildren. She continues to care and advocate for her youngest son, who is severely disabled. She loves jazz, history, the health sciences, gardening, cooking, and food photography, and describes herself as a perennial learner. She spends a lot of time researching and writing, hopeful that her life contributes to others in a meaningful way.