Inducted: 2007
A leader in cooperatives for four decades, Jean Jantzen is known as a dedicated, respected, and talented champion for the cooperative way of doing business. She is a role model who not only devoted her own career to cooperatives, but also dedicated herself to developing the next generation of cooperative leaders.
Jantzen served CHS Inc. (and its predecessors) for 35 years, starting in an entry level position and rising to become one of the organization's first female vice presidents. Throughout her career she emphasized the importance of quality cooperative education. She developed her organization's first young leader program, began conducting Women's Leadership Conferences, and was pivotal in building the CHS Foundation, which provides more than $1.3 million a year for cooperative education, rural development and other programs
Her volunteer activities have been similarly impressive. She served as a trustee of The Cooperative Foundation for 15 years, and was a valued leader for many organizations, including NCBA, CCA, NCFC and AIC. And, her efforts as board chair of HealthPartners during a time of significant challenges helped preserve the member-owned structure of the nation's largest consumer-owned, non-profit health plan.