Born into a Jewish family in Chicago and now a Quaker living in Louisville, Kentucky (Old Louisville). Jan was married to psychiatrist Paul Adams (recently deceased) and is the mother of Sam, Abe, and Chloe Hawkins.

Jan is one of America's leading authorities on the psychology and teaching practices of multicultural education and violence reduction, conducting fieldwork on these two issues for over 20 years. As Manager of Multicultural Education for the Kentucky Department of Education she authored the state's groundbreaking policy guidelinesfor multicultural education. She travels assiduously throughout the US and in Africa presenting her programs for non-violence and multicultural understanding to educators, teachers, parents, schoolchildren and community leaders. Her "No Violence Bus Project" is an example of the creativity she brings to bear in training and educating people to adopt non-violent behaviour.

Jan's publications include "Can Schools Erase Racism?", "In the Line of Fire: Raising Kids in the '90s'", "Tortured Youth", and, "Children in Violence". She has written 8 books, including the parental guide "Teaching Peace" which is featured below.

Teaching Peace : How to Raise Children to Live in Harmony -- Without Fear, Without Prejudice, Without ViolenceAmerica has always been perceived as the great melting pot. But today, with increased immigration, changing demographic patterns, and heightened awareness of diversity, Americans truly live in a global society. For parents and teachers who want to encourage tolerance, respect, and self-esteem, and discourage hatred and violence, Jan Arnow's Teaching Peace is an essential guide, a hands-on, down-to-earth approach that explains how to combat prejudice and prevent conflict while teaching children the kind of values that will help them live fruitful lives in today's changing world.

Included are discussions of:

• Self-esteem: the root of tolerance.
• Peer pressure: how our culture instills bias and glorifies violence.
• Media images: making better choices in books, videos, and TV shows.
• Stereotypes: decoding the racial and sexual messages kids receive every day.
• Critical thinking: helping young people to resist the pressure to conform.
• Practical solutions: putting a stop to hatred -- in the home, school, and community.