Remembering Jane Hagedorn
On March 14, 2023, longtime Breathe CA Sacramento Region CEO Jane Hagedorn passed away. Jane led the formation of the Cleaner Air Partnership in 1986 and stewarded countless local clean air initiatives for more than three decades.
Jane Hagedorn’s passing leaves a hole in my professional development as Breathe California Sacramento Region’s Acting CEO. While I was able to glean tips from Jane, I certainly felt there was much more to learn from her. Jane hired me after completing her Nonprofit Management Class at UC Davis’ Graduate School of Management in 2003. I was impressed by her confidence yet ability to carefully listen and strategize. She then became a mentor to me as I watched her interact with policymakers, leaders and her staff. She knew how to bring people together, even when it appeared that there wasn’t common ground. The Cleaner Air Partnership is a perfect example of Jane’s vision to make progress in improving air quality by involving a variety of groups and individuals. I appreciated her ability to skillfully delegate tasks and lead by example. She saw our organization through significant structural changes and led the charge to independent and relevant programming in the region. Thank you, Jane, for your leadership and friendship.
Jennifer Finton, Acting CEO of Breathe California Sacramento Region
The Cleaner Air Partnership began in early 1986 when Jane Hagedorn, Executive Director of the American Lung Association of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails (ALASET) approached the President of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Mike Seward, and the Air Pollution Control Officer of the Sacramento County Air Pollution Control District, Norm Covell, to jointly sponsor a public-private partnership to support air quality improvement in the region. The concept of an economic and environmental alliance was appealing to all of the parties.
One of the reasons I admired Jane was she was willing to listen and respond even if it went a bit against the grain. The best example is the fact that she agreed to put out the report card for air quality improvements to counter the annual Lung Association report on how our region still got an F rating for air quality. We had done so much to reduce the number and severity of exceedances but were still getting hammered by the annual report. She recognized that it was important to give a little credit to the partners that had work so hard to bring our numbers down. A little pat on the back to encourage folks to keep working together to achieve the ever lower standards.
Becky Wood, Fmr. CAP Chair, Teichert Aggregates (retired)
In her many years of civic involvement, Jane was a Leader for various organizations including being the 1st female ever appointed to the Sacramento County Planning Commission and was recognized by the Sacramento Bee as one of the Most Influential Women in Sacramento County. She was also the award recipient of the Sacramento Audubon Society and Environmental Council of Sacramento and a Fellow of the American Leadership Foundation. Her numerous board member positions included the Tahoe Regional Planning Authority; Arden Park Recreation District, California Planning and Conservation League; Sacramento Symphony; Friends of Light Rail; and Valley Vision.
I remember her as a tenacious advocate for the breathing public in the Sacramento Region. In particular it was through her and others’ leadership that we were able to keep strong local programs in California under the Breathe California structure when the American Lung Association national leadership wanted to go another direction. That wasn’t an easy time but turned out OK in the end.
Larry Greene, Fmr. Air Pollution Control Officer, Sac Metro Air District
For more about Jane, read her Obituary and the Cleaner Air Partnership history document on the Valley Vision website. Thank you for taking the time to remember Jane.
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Adrian Rehn is a Project Leader overseeing the Cleaner Air Partnership and Valley Vision’s Clean Economy portfolio.