Janice is a consultant for foundations and non-governmental organizations in the areas of philanthropy, policy research, program evaluation, and strategy. She has dedicated her career to advancing social justice by strengthening the capacity of individuals and organizations to promote evidence-based collective action.
She served as Executive Director and Vice President of the La Red de Fundaciones de Puerto Rico (now called Filantropía Puerto Rico), where she helped develop a new fund to amplify the voice and impact of Puerto Rico’s nonprofit sector in transforming the island as it recovered from the dual impact of a Category 5 hurricane and an economic crisis. The FORWARD Puerto Rico Fund raised nearly $10 million, largely committed to research and the promotion of relevant policies.
Petrovich spent fourteen years at the Ford Foundation, where she directed global work in the fields of education, gender, and religion. She oversaw staff and programs in thirteen offices worldwide, developed and implemented global strategies, and managed an annual grant program budget exceeding $70 million.
She has consulted for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies, the Ángel Ramos Foundation, Transparency International, the International Education Funders Group, and Rutgers University, among others.
Petrovich also served as National Executive Director of ASPIRA, a national association promoting Latino youth leadership and educational equity. Her prior roles include Director of Research Studies at the American Council on Education; Director of the Research Institute at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico; and faculty member at the University of Puerto Rico. Her service on boards and commissions includes the Center for Investigative Journalism, the White House Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, Independent Sector, Mount Holyoke College, the Miranda Foundation, and the Center for Advanced Studies of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
Her numerous publications include the book Bringing Equity Back (Teachers College Press, 2005) with Amy Stuart Wells, and Strategies for Improving Public Education (Ford Foundation, 2008). She holds a doctorate in educational policy research from the University of Massachusetts, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico.
