Jeanelle grew up near Worcester, MA and thanks to her mom Teresa, she has deep roots in local peace activist spaces such as the Catholic Worker Movement, the Agape Community, and Pax Christi. Raised in these communities of peacemakers, she has stayed connected to peacemaking through now serving on Agape's Mission Council and Pax Christi USA's Anti-Racism Team and Young Adult Caucus.

In college at Brown she was the co-president of the Brown Animal Rights Coalition and a fellow for Mercy for Animals as well as serving as the Social Justice Chair of the Brown-RISD Catholic Community's Pastoral Council and co-founding the interfaith student organization, MOCHA: Multifaith Organizing for College Hill Activism.  In Providence, she was involved with the youth climate justice Sunrise Movement and served on the Trainings Team as well as canvassed door-to-door for local progressive politicians. She also was a volunteer classroom assistant and mentor at Rhode Island's refugee center - Dorcas International Institute. 

When in Lyon, she was also connected to the refugee community through a woman's theater project with SINGA Lyon and an asylum-seeking center in Bron.  Through the Denver Public Library's Plaza program, she facilitated English conversation classes and citizenship support for the adult immigrant and refugee community. She also both developed and delivered peace education programming inspired by wisdom of Nobel Peace Laureates through the non-profit PeaceJam Rocky Mountain.  

Now she serves as the Programming Committee Chair on the Board of Directors of RYSE - Refugee Youth Solidarity through Education - that stewards Rhode Island's refugee youth summer camp. She continues to stay connected to local organizing networks as she moves back to Rhode Island.  She advocates for nuclear disarmament through Pax Christi Rhode Island, for public transit funding through the Providence Streets Coalition's Save RIPTA campaign, and for immigrant rights through AMOR's outreach team.  She also is an Audobon community science volunteer as part of the Roger Williams Park Canada Goose survey project. She also plays with the activist street band, Extraordinary Rendition Band (ERB).