Born and raised in New Jersey, Janelle grew up in Millstone Township. She attended St. John Vianney High School and completed her undergraduate studies at Kutztown University in Kutztown, PA, receiving her degree in English Education in 2008. This is where she met her future husband, Dan.
Janelle is of Irish descent and still has family in Ireland. In fact, Janelle can still do Irish Step Dancing – which is a soft shoe version of river dancing. During her junior and senior years at Kutztown, Janelle spent her summers back home in NJ working as a violations clerk at the courthouse. It was that job that sparked Janelle’s interests in the legal field. Upon graduating from Kutztown University, she went on to pursue her Masters in Paralegal Studies through George Washington University in D.C., graduating in 2010.
Janelle was offered a full-time job at a law firm in Harrisburg, PA. and married her college sweetheart, Dan, in September 2011. Janelle started with Atlee Hall as a secretary in 2013 and within 14 months the firm offered her a paralegal position. Janelle is a very detail-oriented, highly organized, self-motivated individual who takes extreme pride in her work. She is ready to pitch in where needed and strives to excel.
Janelle is also a proud mother of two – her daughter Alena is 7, and her son, Anthony, 5. After work, Janelle focuses on family. Alena is a competitive gymnast which involves traveling throughout the Commonwealth of PA. She has won various awards and most recently took first place in all-around, first place on beam, second place on floor, 4th place on bars and 7th place on vault – and Janelle was there every step of the way. Her son has now started in gymnastics as well.
In her role as a paralegal, Janelle particularly enjoys interviewing clients, focusing on their day-to-day struggles in an effort to figure out ways to help improve their lives – be it through a life care plan, demonstrative collages to show “before and after” photographs, or helping to put together a Day in the Life video. Janelle truly feels this is the right career for her and where she hopes to contribute to making people’s lives better.