Janese Swanson

Janese Swanson (born 1958) is an American inventor and software developer. Swanson co-developed the first of the Carmen Sandiego educational games, and founded the company Girl Tech, which creates products aimed at making technology more interesting for girls. She has developed award-winning curricula, electronic toys, and books that encourage girls to explore technology and inventions. Her toy inventions include the Snoop Stopper Keepsake Box, Me-Mail Message Center, Zap N’ Lock Journal, and Swap-It Locket. Her publications include Tech Girl's Internet Adventures, Tech Girl's Activity Book, and Girlzine: A Magazine for the Global Girl.

Biography Swanson was raised by her mother in San Diego, California, after her father was killed in the Vietnam War. She earned a bachelor's degree in liberal studies in 1981 from San Diego State University, and went on to work as a teacher, a flight attendant and a model.

She also continued her studies, eventually earning a total of seven academic degrees

In the late 1980s, Swanson was hired by Broderbund Software as a product manager, where she helped develop The Treehouse, The Playroom, and the Macintosh edition of the game Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?. She invented gadgets for her daughter, including a voice recording device that she hoped to install in Jackie's daycare cubby and in her own office. She said, "I missed her so much that I used to call my home answering machine to hear her voice, and I thought this would let me talk to her during the day."

Swanson worked as Education Coordinator at the United States Mint, and was a founder at The Art Apprentice. She is now an art teacher in the Del Mar Union School District, and uses computer technology to encourage students' creation of art work. and she was the education chair of SIGGRAPH in 2007.