Janice M. Mitchell was born in 1963 in Natchitoches, Louisiana and relocated to Urbana in June 1988 after earning a Masters Degree from The University of Chicago School Of Social Service Administration. She and her husband (Danny) of 21 years have raised two children. She has been an active member of the Jericho Missionary Baptist Church for 21 years as Coordinator of Praise Dancers, Church Clerk, and involved in Women’s Fellowship and Ushers Ministry. A community activist with a special interest in helping to improve the lives of local African American children, she served as volunteer coordinator/facilitator of evening programs at Prairie Elementary School. In 1989, she began Mitchell’s Sweet Creations. She has worked at Cunningham Children’s Home, the Mental Health Center of Champaign County and is currently District Parent and Community Outreach Liaison for Urbana School District 116. On January 19, 2010 she established a neighborhood center, Urbana Neighborhood Connections Center, Inc. (UNCC), after eleven years of work. In partnership with the Housing Authority of Champaign County, with support from the City of Urbana, Urbana School District and United Way of Champaign County, she transformed an unused warehouse into a viable human service facility located at 1401 East Main Street in Urbana.

Janice was featured in Difference Makers 2010: An eBlack Champaign-Urbana Publication.