Jo Schwartz

Jo Schwartz of Abilene, Kansas, U.S., was elected to a three-year term as a trustee of Kiwanis International during the 2024 Kiwanis International Convention in Denver, Colorado, U.S.  She serves as a trustee for the United States and Pacific Canada regions of Kiwanis.  

A Kiwanis member since 2003, Schwartz is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Abilene. She is also a charter member of the Salina Kiwanis Club in Kansas and the Kiwanis Club of Likasi, Democratic Republic of Congo-Virtual. At the club level, Schwartz has served numerous years on the board of directors, where her roles have included secretary and president. In the Kiwanis Kansas District, she has been both lieutenant governor and governor.  

As a donor to the Kiwanis Children’s Fund, Schwartz has received a Walter Zeller Fellowship. 

She has worked to grow Kiwanis clubs in places ranging from Africa to the U.S. and has been a member of the Africa Growth Committee since 2022.

In addition, Schwartz helped organize the nonprofit Neighbor to Neighbor Abilene, which focuses on helping women, and served that organization for six years.

An artist and an author, she has owned and run an art gallery for several years. She and her husband, Thomas, have been married for 47 years and have three children and three grandchildren. Schwartz enjoys traveling, art, knitting, various styles of music and pyrography (woodburning at a fine-art level).