Jane Walsh Waitkus is a graduate of Misericordia University, the University of the District of Columbia and the University of Scranton.  Most of her career has been spent in education.  She currently is a member of the English Department at Penn State Hazleton where she teaches various writing courses and an American Studies course about coal mining.  Her research interests center around Anthracite Mining Literature and Lore, especially the lives of female immigrants to the coal fields of Northeast PA during the period 1880-1915.

Jane is a member of Luzerne County Council, having been elected to a four year term in November 2015.  She is also a member of the Democratic State Committee, and past president of Laflin Borough Council.  She is married to Frank, the mother of three children and the grandmother of four young grandchildren.