This article first appeared in Kansas Alumni magazine, Issue 4, 2013.

by Steven Hill

Recent graduate to lead Janas Campaign

Eric Sader, s13, l13, has been named the first executive director of Janas Campaign, the nonprofit organization devoted to stopping domestic violence. The group formed after the death of Jana Mackey, c05, a 25-year-old KU law student found dead in her ex-boyfriends Lawrence home in 2008. Mackeys mother and stepfather, Christie and Curt Brungardt, professors of leadership studies at Fort Hays State University, founded Janas Campaign in 2009 to honor her commitment to social justice issues, especially those concerning domestic violence and sexual assault. While completing her undergraduate degree in womens studies and in law school, Mackey was a strong advocate, serving as a state capitol lobbyist for the Kansas National Organization for Women, volunteering at the GaDuGi Safe Center, and working as a staff member on state and national campaigns of female political candidates.

stopping domestic violence, Sader says. Gender-based violence is a womens issue, but its also a mens issue and a human issue, he says. There has been some dangerous talk in the past about men need to protect women. My view in Janas Campaign is that men need to partner with women, not just help women who are seen as victims, but to work with women as equal partners.

STEVE PUPPE

S O C I A L W E L FA R E

Sader, who earned his social welfare graduate degree in the administration and advocacy track, says what drew him to the organization is that it moves domestic violence and sexual assault from a personal issue to a social issue. In addition to looking at violence itself, it looks at things such as gender pay equity and some of the root causes, Sader Eric Sader says. Its really about creating a social shift, more than just helping individuals. Among the organizations five main platforms, Sader sees two as demanding greater immediate attention: campus action and engaging men. A recent $25,000 grant from the Kansas Health Foundation to fund summits to help university administrators and staff members bolster campus safety addresses the first issue. As for the second, more education is needed to define the role that menand society as a wholecan play in