Jana grew up in the Hanseatic city of Rostock in northern Germany. She studied fashion design in Berlin and subsequently worked as an editor for numerous lifestyle magazines.

Since 2009, she has lived in the western suburbs with her husband, a native of Chicago, and their daughter, who attends the Heritage class at GLSN. Upon moving to the US, Jana has gained experience working with children by teaching Art Awareness at the elementary school.

In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors and also teaches yoga. She continues to write for a German publication and expresses her love of the German language through teaching our German 3 class.