Stunning revelations and deep connections: Celebration of life for Jane Ellen Stevens, founder of PACEs Connection

Carey Sipp 3/4/267:47 PM

Jane Stevens’ life, and the celebration of her life, were similar in that both were filled with stunning revelations and deep connections.

Cast as a love letter to the intrepid science journalist who founded PACEs Connection in 2012, the Valentine’s Day event’s highlights included a recounting of some of Jane’s most incredible adventures:

A trip in a research submersible to the deepest point in the ocean, the Mariana Trench (more people have walked on the moon than have visited the depths of the Mariana Trench)

Learning how to ride a Brahma bull in rodeo
Almost dying — and ultimately saving the lives of all on board — on her third ice-cutter mission to the Antarctica
Helping arrange the Olympic Circles skydivers for the 1988 Seoul games
Dancing as a Raiderette cheerleader for the Oakland Raiders
Riding in a Grumman F-14 Tomcat; carrier-capable supersonic jet and not throwing up until she was in the ladies’ room (much to the chagrin of the pilot and ground crew)
Joining three seven-week research trips on icebreakers into the Antarctic’s winter sea-ice zone leading to a print story in National Geographic Magazine and segments for National Geographic Explorer (TV) and the Discovery Channel

A recounting of some of Jane’s travels and research posts, and talents as a journalist, including:

Her four years in Kenya
Living among orangutans in Borneo
Travels through Malaysia and Africa, many with her best friend of four decades, Cherie Porter
Her renovations to houses she owned and rental units she left much improved
Her inherent ability to craft stories about science in ways that made the topics relatable
Her superpowers as an editor in taking stories by writers at PACEs Connection and making them infinitely better in record time.

One wall of photos sharing Jane Stevens’ adventures in a fighter jet, on a broncing bull, and on various trips to Antartica, Africa, and more.

Cherie Porter, Jane’s friend of close to four decades, sharing stories of their years of friendship, travel, and adventure.

As Cherie wrote of Jane in a beautiful booklet she created in Jane’s honor and shared at the celebration:

Sometime in her distant past, Jane discovered her north star when her natural skill as a storyteller linked up with her lifelong fascination with science.

She long appreciated the allure of science and that it could achieve wonderful things, but she knew that it was not infallible because it’s made by humans and, therefore, subject to all the shortcomings, biases, risks, and caveats inherent to all human endeavors.

She remained fascinated, but never lost sight of her role as a journalist. She was in service to readers, not scientists.

We remain the grateful beneficiaries.

Jane’s writing always reflected her curiosity, respect, understanding of the centrality of evidence, and an awareness of the flaws and limitations of knowledge.

Her readers felt that. They also connected with her stories because she wrote from her direct experience.

The scope of Jane’s stories required unusual research and led to extraordinary experiences.

About 50 of Jane’s friends joined Cherie to celebrate Jane’s remarkable life, career, achievements, relationships, and legacy.

L-R Carey Sipp, Alison Cebulla, Dana Brown, and Gail Kennedy, former PACEs Connection staffers. Carey and Dana are currently volunteer co-directors of PACEs Connection, working on the revitalization of the social network started by Jane Stevens as ACEs Connection in 2012.

Dana Brown and Carey Sipp, volunteer co-directors of PACEs Connection shared plans for the continuation of Jane’s work to create ACEs Connection. Jane started ACEs Connection in 2012 to raise awareness of the 1998 Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, which she wrote about in scores of articles in the 26 years after she learned about it, soon after it was published by Kaiser Permanente and The Centers for Disease Control.

Jane changed the name of the social network from ACEs Connection to PACEs Connection in 2021, to reflect the importance and findings of the Positive Childhood Experiences (PCE) Research study published in the Journal of American Medicine, Pediatrics, in 2019.

The study revealed the powerful protective and preventive impact of positive childhood experiences. Promoting this science tied into the purpose of the ACEs science movement to prevent and heal childhood trauma, and to promote resilience and positive childhood and community experiences (PCEs).

Jane’s love of creating and sharing positive experiences, of writing, science, and friendships was evident in the celebration of her life and the stories shared.

“It’s an honor that Carey and I can continue Jane’s legacy of sharing this science she respected and wrote about so much. There were donors to PACEs Connection at the event, donors and supporters. It was especially wonderful for us to be able to share with them that we are close to announcing a revitalization of PACEs Connection,” said Dana.

Photos below are of Lori Chelius, Dana Brown, Lori Dorfman, and Carey Sipp outside at Jane Stevens’ celebration of life near Sacramento, CA.