Jo Anne Stanton
Neighborhood: North East Belair-Edison
“For me, it’s always been about a real sense of justice. People who were made to feel that they had no power should be given an opportunity and an avenue to regain their power and express their power.”
Jo Anne Stanton was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She currently resides in the Belair-Edison community where she raised her son and daughter. She earned her Undergraduate Degree in Political Science from Notre Dame of Maryland University. She continued her education at the University of Baltimore, where she received a Masters of Arts in Legal Studies and a Juris Doctorate Degree.
While earning her Masters and JD, Ms Stanton worked full time at the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City. Upon admission to the Maryland Bar, she became an Assistant State’s Attorney. She specialized in prosecuting crimes against children and sexual offenses. As an Assistant State’s Attorney, she developed a Juvenile Reading Diversion Program and represented the office on the Mayor’s Commission for Children and Youth. Jo Anne was chief of the Sex Crime Division of the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for eleven years, until her retirement in 2011. Prior to its closing in 2015, she was a core faculty at Sojourner–Douglass College and coordinator of its Criminal Justice Department. Upon her retirement from the State’s Attorney’s Office she accepted the position of Director of Student Affairs at Sojourner-Douglass College.
Jo Anne is a long standing member of St Matthew/Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Northeast Baltimore. She is co–chair of the pastoral council and an active member of several ministries. She is also active in various community organizations and is president of the 29th Street Community Center Board of Directors and Vice President of Turn Around Tuesday board of directors. Jo Anne is a strategy team member of BUILD and has worked on the organization’s education and public safety initiatives. Her passion is to create a citywide community where people, especially youth, can thrive, live their dreams, and move baltimoreans through to the next generations.
Stanton’s commitment to the social and political development of Baltimore was ingrained in her by her mother, grandparents, aunts, and uncles who were civil rights advocates. She is currently an adjunct professor at Morgan State University, encouraging students to develop their social and political power and use it to improve their lives and the lives of others. She adheres to the principle that each individual is a role model and therefore can be a positive influence on others that they encounter, even if the encounter is brief.
