Janet Claussen is a long-time religious educator, author and spiritual director. She has served at Immaculate Heart of Mary parish as youth minister and Director of Religious Education. She is also the former chair of the Theology Department at Marist School.

In the 1990's Janet "inadvertently" became an advocate and faculty spokeswoman for LGBQTIA youth and faculty--before that acronym even existed. Shortly after the last of her four children graduated in 2013, he came out to her and their family as gay. Apparently, God was not so inadvertent after all.