JanePAC Is
Answering The Call
Jane making calls in support of Stephanie Garcia Richards' race for New Mexico's Public Lands Commissioner.
our objective
JanePAC's objective is to end the stranglehold the fossil fuel industry has on our lives and our planet by electing climate champions at the state and local level.
the problem
The climate crisis isn't a distant threat — it's our reality. Right now, half the world's population lives under threat of looming climate catastrophe. The science says we have just five years left to significantly reduce our fossil fuel reliance and reach net-zero emissions, but Big Oil isn’t going to go quietly.
Learn MoreWhat We Believe
JanePAC believes that in order to end the stranglehold the fossil fuel industry has on our political system and our planet, we must elect climate-conscious leaders at the state and local level who will stand up to Big Oil, its lobbyists, and the politicians in its pocket.
learn moreour impact
In the PAC’s first year, JanePAC candidates won 42 out of 60 of their general election races. Since our founding, JanePAC has helped elect 170 climate candidates nationwide.
In 2023, 13 out of 14 JanePAC candidates won their races in Virginia, helping flip the Virginia House of Delegates and hold the Virginia State Senate, giving Democrats a majority in the state legislature. JanePAC also notched wins in Pennsylvania, California, Texas, Colorado, and more.
While the 2024 election was tough for Democrats across the board, JanePAC supported 154 campaigns and won 96 of those races. 81% of JanePAC's endorsed candidates were also women and/or people of color, helping elect a diverse slate of climate candidates to all levels of government.
JanePAC is proud to be a robust supporter of our endorsed campaigns. In 2024, JanePAC’s #1 expenditure was direct donations to candidates, and we also supported candidates with field organizing, volunteer recruitment, social media, and more.
our origin story
1937-1947
Jane spent the first 10 years of her life on the-unpaved Tigertail Road in Los Angeles, at a time when there were no freeways, therewas no smog, there was no plastic and there were no franchises. World population was two billion people, which we now know is the Earth’s carrying capacity. Things weren’t great at home, and she found solace in nature – climbing sycamore and oak trees, riding horseback in the canyons, and listening to coyotes and the call of whip-poor-wills. This idyllic, wild version of Los Angeles sparked her lifelong love for our natural world.
Late 1960s
While living in France, American GIs resisting the Vietnam War gave Jane a copy of Jonathan Schell’s ‘The Village of Ben Suc’ and — as Jane reflected years later — the book (which chronicled the destruction of a Vietnamese village by American troops) “just rocked me.” Remembering this time, Jane has said, “I was pregnant, which makes a woman like a sponge, very open to what’s going on around her.” She left France for the US, and embarked on what would become a lifelong commitment to activism.
Early 1970s
In her early years of activism, Jane considered giving up acting to focus fully on organizing and movement work. But progressive lawyer Ken Cockrel Sr. talked her out of leaving Hollywood. As Jane tells it, “he said, ‘Fonda, we have a lot of organizers. We don’t have movie stars in the movement. You not only should not quit, you should be more intentional about what movies you make, and what they say.’” That conversation not only inspired her to keep acting, but also to use her acting career to shine a light on the issues and missions she advocated for.
1978-1980
Remembering Ken’s words, and its impact, Jane began starring in and producing films that shed light on critical issues, like corruption, labor struggles, the costs of war, and gender-based discrimination.
Between 1978 and 1980, Jane produced and starred in ‘Coming Home’, which depicted the consequences of war; ‘China Syndrome’, which explored the risks of nuclear energy and the corruption rampant in the energy sector; and ‘9 to 5’, which promoted the fight for gender equality in the labor movement.
1982-1990s
In 1982, Jane founded “Jane Fonda’s Workout,” which would go on to be one of the bestselling VHS tapes of all time. While the series shaped the at-home fitness industry, it was a decidedly political act.
From its release through the 1990s, all profits from the workout supported the Campaign for Economic Democracy — a statewide organization focusing on economic equality and ending corporate rule, which Jane co-founded with her husband, Tom Hayden.
2019
In much the same way Jonathan Schell’s ‘The Village of Ben Suc’ opened her eyes to the impact of the Vietnam War, reading Naomi Klein's ‘On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal’ inspired Jane to climate action.
Now adamant about advancing climate justice, Jane teamed up with Greenpeace and allies to establish ‘Fire Drill Fridays’, a campaign of weekly climate demonstrations on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. People came from all over the country to protest peacefully, demanding that lawmakers take bold action to address the climate crisis.
Jane and others were arrested during one of many climate actions, and she turned 82 in jail.
2021
Despite years of protests, lobbying, petitions, and civil disobedience, there was no legislation commensurate with what science was demanding. The Build Back Better Act fails to pass Congress due to objections by a number of fossil-fuel friendly Democrats. Jane realizes that candidates serving the interests of Big Oil are the root of American inaction on the climate crisis, and the seed for founding JanePAC is planted.
Jane making calls in support of Stephanie Garcia Richard for New Mexico's Commissioner of Public Lands
2022
JanePAC is founded to elect climate champions at the state and local level, and unseat politicians in the pockets of Big Oil.
In its first election cycle, 42 out of 60 of JanePAC’s endorsed climate candidates won their general elections.
Our Team
Board of Directors
Annie Leonard
Cynthia Renfro
Heeten Kalan
Jay Halfon
Lauren Davis
Kassie Siegel
JanePAC is also supported by an Advisory Board made up of experts in politics, climate policy, social justice, organized labor, arts and entertainment, and other people-powered movements.
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