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Rachel's House Staff Jan Ruark is an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene. She has served as a pastor in the inner city of Columbus since 2002. Pastor Jan primarily serves as the Director of Rachel’s House, a faith based housing program for female ex-offenders. Since being made Director of Rachel’s House, Pastor Jan has served in two prisons, Franklin Pre-release Center (FPRC) Columbus, Ohio and Ohio Reformatory for Women (ORW) Marysville, Ohio. For the past four years, she has led character development Bible Studies within the state penal institutions as well as leading orientation for new inmates at ORW. Pastor Jan Ruark received her Bachelor of Arts in Religion and is working towards her Master of Divinity. Pastor Jan was voted Volunteer of the Year in 2003 at the Franklin Pre-Release Center. In November 2004, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) honored her with the Gold Star Award, which is the highest award given for quality service in the field of corrections. In August of 2005, Jan Ruark joined two other representatives in prisoner reentry to assess national reentry programs through FASTEN, in Washington DC. Their goal was to study “best practices” in reentry and provide resources for other faith and community-based organizations interested in implementing ex-offender programs. Pastor Jan currently sits on the Subcommittee on Prisoner Reentry through the Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Stratton. Because of her experience and expertise with female inmates and ex-felons, she also serves on the Director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitations and Corrections Reginald Wilkinson’s Community Justice Cabinet. |