Janine grew up in Wisconsin and currently lives in Los Angeles, California. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre from St. Olaf College and MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She’s also a graduate of the Second City Conservatory, a sketch comedy writing and improvisational performance training program in Los Angeles. As an actor, she has performed extensively on stage, as well as on camera. Janine is a trained puppeteer and has taught Puppetry for Television classes in Los Angeles. She is a co-author of the picture book Cleo and Cornelius.
“I fell in love with writing and performing at an early age, crafting stories with magic markers in blank books and singing songs from Grease 2 on our backyard picnic table. I love animals, particularly cats. I also love writing books for young people. I hope my stories entertain and enlighten young readers in fun and meaningful ways. I believe we are all creative. We are all storytellers. So I also hope to inspire young (and less young) people to engage their imaginations to find their own unique voices as storytellers.”
Janine is a member of SAG-AFTRA, SCBWI, and the Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry.