Jennie Helderman broke the glass ceiling at age 10 by becoming the first girl page in the Alabama State Legislature. That surge of girl power would not be the last time she saw a need to put women’s issues at the forefront.
In the 1970s, after she helped set up a crisis-call center in an old house, a cry for help at the other end of the phone line incised her memory with indelible ink. That call was the catalyst; eventually, the empty bedrooms upstairs served as the community’s first shelter for victims of domestic abuse.
From there, Helderman began work with women’s issues and leadership, community development, public relations and communications, beginning in Gadsden, Alabama, and reaching to national levels.
At the community and state level, she has championed women’s and children’s issues and worked with child abuse victims. From 2000 until her term expired in 2006, she presided over the six-member board of the Alabama Department of Human Resources, which serves 520,000 clients each month and oversees all family abuse issues in the state.
Two coauthored nonfiction books, Christmas Trivia and Hanukkah Trivia (both first published by Crane Hill Publishers and republished by Gramercy Press in 2002) gave Helderman a quick and thorough immersion in book promotion, from an NPR interview, to television appearances, to radio interviews and book signings, to speaking to every group that would hear her.
She has received awards and recognition for her writing, the most recent in 2006, when one of her short stories was nominated for the 2007 Pushcart Prize for Fiction.
Jennie with Masai chief in Kenya
Helderman’s hobbies include photography, bridge, travel and history. Travels spanning five continents have afforded her an exceptional worldview. She made the pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago de Compostella in Spain in 2000. In the summer of 2002, she worked as a photographer on an Earthwatch archaeology project at the Scavi in Pompeii, Italy. She has hiked and rafted the Grand Canyon twice; visited 47 US states and five continents; climbed Mt. Vesuvius; and photographed the Masai people and wild animals in Kenya and Tanzania.
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Resume: Jennie Miller Helderman
Writing/Publications
• Nominated for 2007 Pushcart Prize, “Angel at the Crossroads,” flashquake, Spring 2006.
• Gival Press, LLC, 2004 Finalist, “Bridget” (one of three finalists).
• Hanukkah Trivia, (with Mary Caulkins. Paperback, Crane Hill Publishers. 1999. ISBN 1 57587-139-4. Hardcover edition, Gramercy, August 6, 2002. ISBN-10 0517220717; ISBN-13 978-0517220719).
• Christmas Trivia (with Mary Caulkins. Paperback. Crane Hill Publishers. 1998. ISBN 1-57587-094-0. Hardcover edition, Gramercy, August 6, 2002. ISBN-10 0517220709; ISBN 13 978-0517220702).
Alumnae and Arts Editor, The Key, a 120,000-circulation quarterly magazine of Kappa Kappa Gamma, published continually since 1872. 1992–1996.
Chaired Editorial Board, The Key, 1988–1990.
Community and Civic Leadership
Alabama Dept. of Human Resources (DHR):
Vice Chair and Member of Board of Trustees of Alabama Department of Human Resources: Served six-year term on six-member board, 2000–2006. Presided as Vice Chair, 2004–2006. Responsible for oversight and policies of state social services in Alabama, including services to children, families, and the elderly, assisting about 520,000 clients per month. Recognizing that many of its clients fall into high-risk categories for domestic abuse, DHR works in collaboration with the Alabama Coalition on Domestic Violence. DHR maintains a domestic violence expert in each of its 67 county offices. DHR is Alabama’s largest government agency, with a budget of $1.6 billion and 5,000 employees.
President and Member of Board of Directors of Northwest Alabama Children’s Advocacy Center.
1995–2004. Chaired Board of Center serving abused children in six-county area with 2,400+ clients annually. Presided over reorganization and training of Board; doubled size of physical facilities; added forensic examination staff and clinic.
Member of Board of Directors of The Leading Edge Institute, 2000–2003.
Worked with organization of the agency and setting up the program, a private, not-for-profit leadership development program for young women in Alabama on 22 college and university campuses.
President and Member of Board of Directors of Voices for Alabama’s Children, 1995–1999.
Gadsden, Inc., Incorporator and President-elect:
a citizen’s group organized to improve the quality of life in the Gadsden, Alabama, area. This group succeeded in winning the 1991 All America City award of the National Civic League. Worked personally with George H. Gallup in conducting a poll about community needs; then coordinated twelve citizen task forces to meet those needs. Moved to Florence, Alabama, prior to assuming presidency. 1991-1993.
Chairman of A+, Gadsden, Alabama. Organized community meeting of 1,500 people regarding school reform. September 1993.
Board Member of Alabama Society of Fine Arts, Chair of Awards Committee, 1992–1997.
The Alabama Prize:
Board Member and Coordinator of The Alabama Prize, An annual $10,000 award given to an Alabama artist by three New York Times regional newspapers and presented by the Governor of Alabama. Oversaw selection of the winner, planned the event at the Governor’s Mansion, communicated with the celebrities, handled publicity and public relations. 1988–1992.
Vestry Member, Junior and Senior Warden, Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, Gadsden, Alabama. 1976–1978. Paid off note on church building, bought new parish house, hired a new priest.
Officer or Board Member of other organizations in Alabama: Rape Response; Shoals Chamber of Commerce, chaired government issues committee; elected two terms to Alabama State Democratic Executive Committee; Gadsden Jobs Corps Center; Gadsden Service Guild; Etowah County Literacy Council; Fellowship House, halfway house for male alcoholics (board member and held weekly group therapy for two years regarding relationships with women); Symphony Board; Gadsden Beautification Board; and others.
Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity Offices:
Board of Trustees, Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity, an international women’s organization with 150,000 membership; an elected office.
Director of Chapters. 1990–1992. Responsible for the programming and physical property of chapters on 122 college campuses in the United States and Canada, totaling approximately 14,000 collegiate members. Initiated new chapter management system; developed new leadership training model; implemented programs in women’s health, risk management, personal safety, and self-esteem issues. Monthly newsletter received first place award from National Panhellenic Conference.
Vice President. 1988–1990. Responsible for public relations, auxiliary income, and publications, including the quarterly magazine, The Key. Introduced business principles and commercial advertising to the magazine. Dealt with media representatives, publicists, campus authorities, and attorneys regarding publicity and public relations. Developed new training manuals. Supervised updating of trademarks. Instigated development of Greek Properties, Inc., a licensing consortium of 20+ sororities and fraternities. Served on the Board of the Heritage Museum for preservation of home of governor of Ohio during Civil War.
Founding Member of Board of Trustees of Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. 1989–1992. The Foundation produces programs aimed at intellectual development, leadership skills, and health and safety issues of women. The Foundation produced the CD Insight on Domestic Violence, distributed annually to 134 college chapters and 340 alumnae organizations since 1991, and KeepSafe, a brochure about personal safety given to each new member, about 2,600 annually, as well as the 134 college chapters and 340 alumnae organizations, and other organizations.
Chairman of Advisory Boards of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Responsible for recruiting, training, and supervision of 1,200 alumnae advisers in US and Canada. 1986–1988.
Office of Congressman Tom Bevill, Washington, DC. Spring 1985. Staff work while pursuing MPA. Constituent services, wrote news releases and radio scripts, met with visiting constituent groups.
Province Director of Chapters of Kappa Kappa Gamma. 1983–1986. Elected to two terms. Responsible for programming and public relations of eight college chapters in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
Gadsden TV, Inc., President. 1976–1979. Started WNAL as a new television station from conception through the construction permit process.
Coordinator of Volunteers, Anchor, Inc., in Gadsden, AL, a community-based social service agency serving 8,500–10,000 clients per year. Identified unmet needs of area; launched new agencies, such as the first women’s shelter, Legal Aid and Retired Senior Volunteer Program, a crisis center, food bank, and Green Thumb program; provided information and referral services. Recruited and trained 60–75 community volunteers per year to staff agency; partnered with CETA, VISTA, and the Gadsden Service Guild in training volunteers to staff Anchor and other agencies. Taught courses in group dynamics on contract with Gadsden State Junior College. 1971–1975. Elected to Board of Directors 1975–1984. Received Award for Outstanding Service.
Taught English, History, and Social Studies in Etowah County School System and at Episcopal Day School.
Education
Masters in Public Administration, Jacksonville State University
BA in English, University of Alabama
Associate in Mental Health Technology, Gadsden State Junior College
Writing Courses: Advanced Creative Writing, 2009; Postgraduate Writers Conference, Vermont College of Fine Arts, 2008; Mastering the Novel and Writing Fiction, summer, 2008, Margaret Mitchell House, Atlanta; Advanced Magazine Writing, University of Alabama, 2005; Algonkian Writers with Michael Neff of Web del Sol, Tucson, 2002;Creative Writing, University of North Alabama, five semesters; Gotham courses in Fiction, Advanced Fiction, Novel, and Memoir.
Writing Conferences: Postgraduate Writing Conference, Vermont College of Fine Arts; University of North Alabama; The Lost State Writers Conference, Greeneville, TN; The Oxford Conference on the Book, Oxford, MS; Atlanta Writers Conference.
State and Community Service
Personal
Married, mother of two adult children, grandmother of three. Husband is retired newspaper publisher, working for New York Times 1985–2003, and for family owned properties in Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, and Virginia prior to 1985; president of Alabama Press Association two years; a member of the Alabama State Arts Council 2001-2007.
Membership in Organizations: The Authors Guild; The Atlanta Writers Club; The Alabama Writers Forum; Writers and Critters (an international online women’s writing group); Ghost Ranch Writers (a fiction critique group); Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity; Episcopal church; Leadership America; Leadership Alabama.
