Spring 1997
Staff Profile: Jeanne Bartas
Just about every morning of the week, before eight o'clock, Jeanne Bartas arrives
at the VRG office on her green bicycle after pedaling for one hour. She's an
early bird by nature, but really only wants to avoid the heaviest part of rush
hour. This has been her habit since she began working at VRG in December 1991.
After a four-year Peace Corps experience in West Africa, Jeanne returned to
Baltimore, her hometown, and resumed her job at the VRG.
Her day begins by answering the e-mail. She never knows what the inquiries will
be about, yet she is well-equipped to answer, or find the answer, to just about
any question which is posed to the VRG. These questions' subjects range from
nutrition to philosophy to science to health, and back again. For example, in a
given day, she may tell someone that diglycerides in foods are usually animal-
derived; that isoflavones in soyfoods may have beneficial health effects; that
there is a vegetarian society in Nigeria; and that No Cholesterol Passover
Recipes contains a recipe for almond "milk." Some-times, e-mail inquiries
demand a search through our extensive files or through books in VRG's library.
This is all in a day's work for Jeanne as Research Assistant for the VRG.
Jeanne loves to find answers to questions. Sometimes, her work takes her to the
Baltimore Public Library or to The National Agricultural Library in Beltsville,
MD. She spent many long hours in these places while researching information for
the aquaculture article, published in the May/June and July/August Vegetarian
Journals. Jeanne did that project on a volunteer basis. Also as a volunteer,
she writes occasional book reviews for the Journal. She enjoys books on ethics
the most, because it permits her to draw on her academic work in philosophy.
At work, Jeanne has recently been consumed by writing a food ingredients
dictionary. This project involves contacting hundreds of chemical company
technical representatives or food technologists. Jeanne uses her background in
chemistry as she tries to put the pieces together from several sources and
understand the intimate workings of the chemical reactions used to make food
ingredients. Like many projects at the VRG, the work is never-ending. There is
always something more to learn.
Jeanne does other projects in the office as well as research. She can fill in
for the book distribution manager if necessary. She also offers assistance to
callers who may be journalists, health professionals, college students, or new
vegan mothers looking for information. She helps supervise VRG's interns,
coaching them to become good researchers and communicators of that research.
What is the best part of her job? Jeanne says without hesitation, "when someone
says 'thanks for your help. I'm glad that there are still people in the world
who take the time to really answer a question.' " So thank you Jeanne for all
your research!
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� 1996-
The Vegetarian Resource Group
PO Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203
(410) 366-8343 Email: [email protected]
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Last Updated
September 20, 1997
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