Jan B. Hansen, Ph.D.

  • Co-Founder, President/CEO
  • Co-Founder, Center for Engineering Education, University of St.Thomas, MN

Prior to co-founding and becoming CEO of Educate Tanzania 2010, Jan was a professor and administrator at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota where she also co-founded the Center for Engineering Education. Before joining the faculty at St. Thomas in 1996, Jan served as Associate Director of the Gifted Education Resource Institute at Purdue University, expanding initiatives in the U.S. and internationally.

While serving as an advisor in Tanzania in 2008, she learned about plans for a university and wanted to help. In 2010, she resigned her position from the University of St. Thomas to help developing communities in Tanzania. Since then Hansen has led efforts to ‘bring water, nutrition, health and education to developing communities internationally'. Hansen has received several awards for her work and has published 2 books and over 50 articles. She serves on editorial and advisory boards and has led educational initiatives in the United States, Australia, Puerto Rico, and Africa.

Jan holds a Doctorate in Educational Psychology from Purdue University where she is a Distinguished Alumna; holds a Master of Science in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Art from St. Cloud State University, Minnesota. Jan enjoys family, music, travel and friends.

Raised on a farm herself, Jan feels called to help open doors for others just as others helped open doors for her.