Janie Strauss has been active in education for more than 25 years. She is a former elementary and preschool teacher who earned her M.A.T. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and B.A. from George Washington University. She is the past president of the Franklin Sherman PTA and the Fairfax County Council of PTAs and past chair of the Council's education and budget committees. Janie served on the FCPS Career and Technical Preparation Task Force, the Fairfax Framework for Student Success, the Division Planning Committee, and the Area III Superintendent's Advisory Committee. She served as co-chair of the 1993 Citizen's Bond Committee; Chair of the School Board budget committee 1996-99; School Board vice chair 2000 and chairman 2001. Her FCPS Board service spans from 1991-93 as well as 1996-present.

She is the mother of one current FCPS student and three FCPS graduates.