Jane Blake Beasley

For 26 years, Jane Blake Beasley has been the godmother and backbone of the Tennessee Justice Center. A librarian by training, she combines the analytical skills of an elite lawyer with the kindness of a gifted teacher and empathy of a dedicated social worker. Soon after TJC began, we stole Jane away from our friends at the Legal Aid Society, rationalizing our perfidy by calculating that she had already helped them mold a culture of compassion and excellence, and we needed her to do that for our fledgling organization. If born a little later, Jane would have become our first woman President. Instead, as TJC’s casework supervisor, she has ensured that no one who comes to TJC seeking justice leaves without the very best of our collective efforts. Her photographic memory of arcane Medicare, SNAP and Medicaid regulations is unmatched - literally – by anyone in the nation. Unwilling ever to concede that there’s nothing to be done for a client, Jane creatively solves client problems that leave everyone else stumped. She has ministered to clients, and to fellow staff, during our darkest days. Most importantly, Jane has instilled in hundreds of TJC staff and volunteers of all ages the responsibility to make every person feel heard and respected. Beloved colleague and relentless champion for justice, Jane is why TJC is TJC.