Janelle Pierini is all about giving back. Digital Marketing Strategist at Adtaxi, mother of three, board member and volunteer at Club Dust, she loves sharing knowledge, resources, time and energy.

“Being able to help people is where I find my joy,” she says.

Originally from San Jose, Janelle graduated from San Jose State and has worked in the digital marketing/advertising industry for over nine years now. She moved to Scotts Valley after meeting her (now) husband and joining their families together—they have three boys between them, ages 9-11. After taking some time off to focus on family, Janelle has been with Adtaxi since February.

She loves her work because it allows her to partner with businesses she’s passionate about. Although she works on a national level, mostly with larger accounts, she’s able to come alongside businesses as a partner to help develop their digital marketing and ecommerce strategies. Janelle enjoys working with businesses that are doing social good, such as B Corps.

Janelle wants to give back to her community, and her goal is to create a digital marketing hub to help local businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs by sharing her knowledge and resources, providing the building blocks for growth. “I want to shine light to others in the digital marketing space,” she says.

When she’s not working, Janelle enjoys spending time with her family, with her girlfriends and volunteering. She says, “I wish I could just volunteer for a living!”

She started volunteering with her husband at Club Dust four years ago, a nonprofit organization that builds houses for impoverished families in the border towns of Tijuana and Tecate, Mexico, and now they serve on the board. They also collect clothes to bring and donate to families in need, but last time they were unable to get them over the border.

After driving all over town and collecting over 30 bags of clothing, Janelle is now sitting on them in hopes of finding a local organization to partner with. She believes in the power and joy of hand to hand exchange instead of just dropping them off somewhere and not knowing what will happen to the items, or whether somebody who really needs them will get them.

She says, “I like helping others and I see a need here. I want to be able to give back because I live in this community.”

So please join us in celebrating such a shining member of our community—somebody who’s passionate about social impact issues, giving back and inspiring others. HERstory is OURstory. Thanks, Janelle!

Written by our discoverHER blogger: Liz Hodges