Company's 401(k) Plan.
01 April 2011
If you enjoy being able to dine in a smoke-free restaurant, you may want to thank Jane Hagedorn. As the former executive director of Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails, she helped spearhead efforts to reduce smoking and improve California’s air quality. For more than three decades, Hagedorn and a dedicated team of staff and volunteers worked on a diverse range of initiatives, from passing Proposition 99, which increased the state’s tobacco tax, to helping children with asthma and reducing air pollution.
“Every day we got things done that were important,” says Jane. Though she retired from her leadership post in 2009, Jane looks back with fondness on her time with the organization, which she feels she has left in good hands. Kori Titus, a long-time Breathe California employee, took over the executive director position in 2009, after demonstrating excellent leadership in all areas of nonprofit mission and management.
“My goal was to leave a strong Breathe California,” says Jane, who says she feels she accomplished that objective. “I was very proud of our work … but I was ready to move on to other things.”
Now that she’s retired, Jane is free to pursue her other passions, which include a wide range of volunteer efforts. Organizations she’s involved with include the Sacramento Tree Foundation, which she helped to found more than 25 years ago.
Jane and her husband Jim, a retired lawyer, continue to live in the Sacramento area. The couple—who got engaged just three weeks after they met―have been married for 44 years. Though Jane is originally from Ohio (she grew up on the shores of Lake Erie) and attended college and graduate school at the University of North Carolina and Johns Hopkins University, she’s called California home for many years. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. “It’s still the best place to be,” she says.
In addition to their community involvement, the Hagedorns enjoy spending time with their five grandchildren, who range in age from six months to 11 years. “That’s where my priorities are now,” says Jane, who sees her grandkids almost every day. The couple also loves to travel. Last summer they rented an RV and drove to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks with their family, and this May they’ll be heading to England, where they’ll be renting a canal narrowboat for a unique vacation experience. “We try to do those things as much as possible,” says Jane.
Between spending time with her grandchildren, volunteering and travelling, Jane has had no problem staying busy in retirement. Knowing that she’s been instrumental in creating a thriving organization that continues to do important work to reduce smoking and improve the health of all Californians certainly helped ease the transition to the next phase of her life. “It’s a wonderful feeling when you retire to know that your work is being carried on,” she says.