Tulane Bio

Jennifer A. Sachs is a Holistic Health Coach & Consultant, as well as Women's & Community Holistic Wellness Educator, living and practicing in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ms. Sachs graduated cum laude from the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College of Tulane University in 1994 with a dual Bachelors Degree in Women's Studies and Spanish. For her excellent grades and service, Jennifer was selected as a Junior Year Abroad student to Spain in the 1992-1993 academic year, during which time she was enrolled at the University of Madrid in both undergraduate and graduate level courses, instructed solely, in the Spanish language. As a Newcomb Junior in Spain, Jennifer co-authored a cutting-edge paper, interview, and survey with a sister-Newcomb Psychology student (currently, PhD) on Women's Reproductive Rights, which was suggested for publication by Faculty of the University of Madrid. Also, in Spain, Jennifer worked to increase access and awareness to women's health clinics and services for University of Madrid students and community.

As a Newcomb Senior recently, returned from Spain and looking to synthesize her two degrees, in addition to combining the fields of academic & experiential learning in trail-blazing ways, Ms. Sachs volunteered at the YWCA Battered Women's Program and designed the first, 'Internship For Credit' class within the Tulane Women's Studies Department, in coordination with Newcomb College Center For Research on Women founder, Dr. Beth Willinger. Within two years, this 'Internship for Credit' class became a required course to graduate from the Women's Studies Department and eleven years later, through Jennifer's academic model and community, activism, as well as other influences, Tulane University created the Center for Public Service to include a mandatory, 'Service Learning Internship' Capstone for all undergraduate degree completion. While completing her undergraduate degree, Ms. Sachs not only, volunteered and sought employment off-campus but also, worked as a Lifeguard at the Reily Center and played for the Tulane Intramural Field Hockey Team. Throughout her undergraduate training, Jennifer consistently, received Honor Role, Dean's List and Academic scholarships.

From 1994-1997, Jennifer expanded her connections with Newcomb, Tulane, and New Orleans while traveling around the country to explore the newly, re-birthing field of Natural Healing in her work with women and diverse, minority populations, including rural communities and Native Americans. Such accomplishments during this time include co-founding the first bi-lingual, English-Spanish HIV/AIDS Hotline for women in New Mexico and serving as a Medical Translator in the Maternity & Infant Care Department of the University of New Mexico Teaching Hospital. In 1997, Jennifer returned to Tulane's University College to pursue Post-baccalaureate work in the Pre-Medical Sciences and Jewish Studies, during which time she served as the Vice-President of the Tulane Pre-Medical Society and as an active member of the Tulane Green Club. In her role as Pre-Medical Society Vice-President, Jennifer expanded student programming and mentorship to include Alternative & Holistic Medicine, as well as other interdisciplinary, Health-based careers; created the Big Buddy-Little Buddy Program which linked undergraduate Pre-Medical students with graduate Medical students for mentorship; and worked to insure the Pre-Medical Advisory program shifted its vision and name to the more, cutting-edge and inclusive, Pre-Health Advisory program.

In 1998, while enrolled in Post-baccalaureate classes, Ms. Sachs began a Masters of Science in Public Health at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Her first year as a graduate student, Jennifer participated both as student and Holistic Healing/Yoga Instructor, alongside other esteemed, Holistic Health Practitioners in 'Traditional Methods & Alternative Therapies'--the inaugural, Holistic Health course for credit offered jointly, by Tulane Medical School and Tulane School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine. In 2000, Ms. Sachs also, received a course certificate in Chinese Herbal Healing from the Barefoot Doctors Academy. Throughout this time, Ms. Sachs actively, campaigned to provide Medical Students with a more Holistic, Integrative, and Patient-Centered Curriculum and in 2001 worked as a Standardized Patient in the newly, innovated, Tulane Medical School & Hospital Standardized Patient Pilot Program which, within a few, short years, was approved as a core requirement for all Medical Students graduating from all programs in the USA. From 1998-2005, Ms. Sachs worked part-time on her graduate studies and related experiences, including traveling to Israel various times, through esteemed scholarships and awards for her community work, to study and work in Israeli & Middle Eastern Environmental & Global Public Health and Peacemaking.

In 2005 and 2007, Ms. Sachs created the first, Yoga Clinics within Tulane Athletics, instructing the Women's Swim Team and Volleyball Team and later, brought these clinics to the newly, developed Paterson Wellness dorm on campus. In 2006, Newcomb College Institute's inaugural academic year, as well as in 2008, Ms. Sachs lectured and instructed students in Organic & Seasonal Cooking, Chinese Medicine, and Herbal Healing theory and practice, as part of Newcomb College Institute's 'Fridays at Newcomb' & Newcomb Arts Festival Programming. Ms. Sachs has also, volunteered at Newcomb College Institute's 'Newcomb Networking Night' and Newcomb Spring Arts Festival, and participated in Newcomb College Institute Leadership Summit 2009, 'Power Lines: Women Transform The Grid'.

For outstanding Women's Studies academics, Community Organizing skills, and Holistic Healing practice, Ms. Sachs was selected in 2008 to serve as the V-Day "V to the Tenth" & Katrina Warriors Festival Coordinator, in conjunction with Newcomb College Center For Research on Women and other Women's/Gender Studies University-based programs, Scholars, Community Organizers, and Activists around New Orleans. In April of 2009, Jennifer received a grant through V-Day & the Katrina Warriors Network to continue her pioneering, academic & experiential-based scholarship and community programming for women throughout New Orleans and the U.S. Gulf South. Ms. Sachs has been instrumental in creating diversity and tolerance programming on campus for the duration of her time at Tulane in areas of LGBT Rights, Environmentalism, Women's Issues, and Peace-making including, assisting in program development of 'One Voice: Israel at Heart' outreach to Tulane students in 2004.

Jennifer has consistently, volunteered & instructed at Tulane-affiliated Jewish organizations such as the Hillel Center and Chabad House, has collaborated with Hadassah & the National Council of Jewish Women-New Orleans Section, and is credited for founding other Holistic Healing programming and instruction in New Orleans, including the Yoga Programmes at the New Orleans Jewish Community Center and Touro Hospital Alternative Therapies Center. In addition to Holistic Wellness, Ms. Sachs has mentored young women since her youth and has tutored and taught interdisciplinary, Holistic Education courses and lectures in Spanish, English, Hebrew, Arts, Athletics, and Women's Topics for over twenty years. Ms. Sachs has served as an activist and proponent for interdisciplinary, University education, including Tulane's TIDES course and has matriculated in courses from 25 departments and seven of ten schools within Tulane University. She has collaborated on an array of articles, papers, and resource guides, including The New Orleans Women's Health Resource Guide; is currently, writing a Holistic Wellness Cookbook; and recently, was asked to contribute to two Feminist blogs, 'NOLA Femmes: New Orleans Women Talk New Orleans' & 'Violet Femmes: A Collaboration For The Promotion of Women In Music,' which also, publishes cd's. Jennifer's many, Holistic Healing & Yoga students have included Tulane and Newcomb Professors, Faculty, Staff, Students and Community.

Jennifer is an active Newcomb College Alumna and Tulane Women's Association supporter and often, guest-lectures and instructs groups of women around New Orleans in Holistic Wellness, Holistic Healing Education & Yoga. Ms. Sachs' students have incorporated Holistic Healing & Yoga into Academics at Tulane University, within the New Orleans Public School system, as well as nearly, every profession, such as Medicine, Nursing, Mental Health, Public Health, Grief Counseling, Family Counseling, Social Work, Environmental Sciences, Engineering, Business, Law, Politics, Art, Music, Religious Studies, Community Organizing, Childcare and other Holistic Healing fields. In fact, many of Ms. Sachs' students have won awards and other notoriety for exemplary, incorporation of Holistic practices into their work. Ms. Sachs currently, practices at the Uptown Holistic Center, consults and educates around town, and hopes to complete her Masters coursework by 2012. She also, aims to expand the development of Women's, Diversity, and Holistic Wellness interdisciplinary, programming, both academic & experiential, in New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast in coming years.

Ms. Sachs credits her can-do attitude to growing up as the youngest child in a large family with strong, female role models and the privelege of attending a girls' camp and women's college. Throughout her 20 years at Newcomb and Tulane, Jennifer has developed life-long mentorships, professional networks and friendships with students & staff from around the globe.

Why Save Newcomb College? A First-Hand Account.

The following is a response to a conversation I found on Tulane's Facebook page dated December 10, 2009 where a female Tulane student made a comment about leaving Newcomb College 'behind' to which several Newcomb alumnae, including myself, felt disheartened enough to respond. It was reprinted with my permission & minor modifications by The Future of Newcomb College (TFoNC) in their Save Newcomb Daisychain Newsletter 2/16/10 with the following description:

RAISING OUR VOICES: A MESSAGE FROM FACEBOOK

Add your voice to the chorus to Save Newcomb. Join the Save Newcomb group on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15371595213&ref=ts and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SaveNewcomb. We need to hear from you.

Recently, a Newcomb alumna wrote a Facebook entry in reply to someone asking why Newcomb alumnae were still devastated and vocal about the closure of Newcomb College. Her message, condensed here, is worth repeating:

Many, Newcomb alumnae, supporters, employees, and community are grieving the loss of a very sacred, special, unique, and irreplaceable institution that: was the first women's coordinate college within a university in the USA; the first degree-granting college for women within a university in the USA; opened doors for women to learn on the same campus as men; paved the way for women to enter co-educational academic atmospheres around the world; was founded at a time when women not only, did not yet have the right to vote in the USA and most, other countries, but by a mother (Josephine Louise Newcomb) in honor of her daughter (H. Sophie Newcomb), a young woman who died too early in life --age 15-- to be able to fully develop her own education, life purpose and legacy. Newcomb College, the center of the Newcomb & women's academic wheel at Tulane, with its multitude of internal spokes including,Newcomb Pottery, Newcomb Dance, Newcomb Arts, Newcomb Theater, Newcomb Sports, Newcomb Senate, Newcomb College Center For Research on Women, Newcomb Nursery, Tulane Junior Year Abroad Program, (which was run by women & housed in Newcomb Hall), provided not simply, academic infrastructure but also respect, inclusion, embrace, recognition, tradition, culture, innovation, safety, and celebration of womanhood for 120 years to tens of thousands of women from around the world, over decades, centuries, and even millenia! These women profoundly,continue to grieve the loss of their Newcomb 'Mother' alongside their Tulane 'Father' within the Tulane University family.

While the history of Newcomb College may seem like it only, applied to women from 'long ago', when we look at the facts of women's lives in Louisiana and around the world, we see otherwise. Women still, earn .66 cents to the male dollar in Louisiana and .77 cents to the male dollar nationally (this rate often, is considerably lower forfurther, marginalized female populations.) Studies show that approximately 1 in 3 women will be abused, attacked, or physically violated in her lifetime. According to the American Association of University Women, 20-25% of women will be sexually assaulted or experience attempted sexual assault during their college career and 95% of sexual assaults on campus go unreported (http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/laf/lafnetwork/library/assault_stats.cfm). By contrast, common research shows that women who have access to women-only education & classroom atmospheres--not to the exclusion of co-ed but in addition to--maintain higher self-esteem, higher performance rates, greater successes in class group-work, stronger class participation, more personal empowerment, and report feeling safer/happier in their college experiences, overall. As a Newcomb Women's Studies alumnae I understand first-hand, not only psychologically but academically, statistically, and clinically how women, both on and off-campus, whether student or staff, are being affected by the closing of Newcomb.

At this time, we cannot afford to lose ANY resources for women anywhere in the world. We simply, don't have enough to spare. The reinstatement of Newcomb College is a reinvestment--not only, in the lifelong 'literary and practical' education for women that Josephine Newcomb desired, mandated, and entrusted that Tulane would provide its female students specifically, through a degree-granting college for women in perpetuity--but in the education and prosperity of women worldwide.

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