Photographs by William Taufic.
Jane and husband Brian visit with Horizons students.
Jane Williams has quite the résumé. She graduated summa cum laude from Duke with a degree in political science and Russian language; she worked in the U.S. State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and as executive producer of the public affairs program Panorama; she is also the wife of news anchor Brian Williams and the mother of two—including daughter Allison, who stars on the hit HBO show Girls.
Living such an exciting life, one might forget her humble roots as a scholarship student at New Canaan’s Country School. Not Jane. She remembers how hard her mother, Pat Stoddard, worked as a teacher. She also has close friends who were part of the Horizons program, a nonprofit educational organization serving low-income children.
“One of the things that was most meaningful to me about being a faculty kid at Country School and being in the family I was in in New Canaan, was the real importance placed on community,” says Jane. “I appreciated the fact that there was a real mixture of kids at Country School, including us. We couldn’t have afforded the tuition.”
When Jane returned to New Canaan with her husband twenty-three years ago, she says, “It was important to me to get involved in the community in the broad sense of the word. There’s incredible wealth and incredible poverty in Fairfield County. It enriches my life trying to reduce that divide.”
She began that mission as board chair of the Horizons program, which was founded at her alma mater fifty years ago. “We worked hard on expanding awareness of the program and having residents of surrounding towns understand this is everyone’s program,” explains Jane. “We worked very hard to create an endowment.”
Leah Kimmet, executive director of Horizons at the Country School, comments; “It is hard to imagine a time when Jane was not involved with Horizons. Our organization has become such an important part of her life that she seizes every opportunity to share her enthusiasm about the difference Horizons is making in children’s lives.”
Jane now serves as the chair of Horizons national board and has helped expand it to forty-five programs around the country. “It’s an incredible adventure and opportunity,” says Jane. “The growth is wonderful.”
She has seen the program transform lives. “A child learned to swim at Horizons and then got a swimming scholarship to college. Our son worked in the program with a young boy who was a troublemaker, with a lot of problems at home. He had a stammer. He was deathly afraid of the water, but in his second year, he passed his deep-water swim test. Right after that, his speech started becoming fluid.”
Jane, who comes from a long line of educators, says, “I grew up knowing that teaching is admirable. Education can change everything.” Jane also hosts Bloomberg EDU, Bloomberg Radio’s weekly look at education. “My big dream is for there to be no difference between the opportunities available to wealthy kids and those from low-income families. I wish we treated all kids as our kids. That is what education in this country is meant to be.” »