From Prep to the world stage, Jeanene (Russell) Perry `92 carries forward a life formed by both craft and service. Her journey—from the disciplined world of professional ballet to leadership in moments of global need—reveals how the foundations built at Gonzaga Prep continue to shape the way she moves through the world.
Jeanene (Russell) Perry has stood backstage at some of the world’s most renowned performance halls—waiting in the wings beneath chandeliers and velvet curtains, preparing to step into roles shaped by years of discipline and sacrifice.
She has also worked behind the scenes in a very different kind of moment: helping young dancers and their families escape war-torn Ukraine, coordinating placements, training opportunities, and safe passage during a time of profound uncertainty.
In both settings, the same qualities have guided her—precision, resilience, and a steady commitment to others.
Those qualities began taking root years earlier at Gonzaga Prep.
“It more than a school,” she says. “It was where the foundations of who I would become were laid.”
Jeanene attended Prep during the early years of coeducation, when the school was still learning how to fully support young women as scholars and leaders. At the same time, she was pursuing something few students could imagine balancing: the demanding path of professional ballet. Rather than asking her to choose, Prep made space for both.
Teachers and administrators worked with her to navigate a rigorous academic schedule alongside intense training, allowing her to leave campus during lunch for ballet lessons and supporting long hours of practice after school. Just as importantly, they recognized her passion as something worth investing in.
“I never felt like an outsider,” Jeanene recalls. “I felt seen. I felt valued.”
That sense of belonging affirmed that excellence could take many forms. It gave her the confidence to pursue her calling—and to bring that passion back into the life of the school, choreographing routines for events and contributing creatively to the community.
From there, her path widened quickly.
Jeanene went on to train at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, Russia, becoming the first American to graduate from the prestigious institution. Her professional career took her across the United States and abroad, performing with Ballet Arizona, Charlotte Ballet, and other companies.
Yet even as her career unfolded on larger stages, the habits and values formed at Prep —discipline, resilience, humility, and service—remained central to who she was.
“Using what I’d been given to help others felt natural,” she says. “That’s something Prep instilled in me.”
Those instincts became especially clear in her leadership as Chairman of the Board for Youth America Grand Prix, the world’s largest student ballet scholarship organization. When war erupted in Ukraine, Jeanene played a critical role when war erupted in Ukraine. She worked tirelessly to help young dancers and their families escape the country, coordinating placements, training opportunities, and safe transitions during a moment of unimaginable crisis.
“Using what I’d been given to help others felt natural,” she says. “That’s something Prep instilled in me.”
Today, she lives in Charleston, SC, with her husband, Ford, son Web, and daughter Arianna. She continues to lead as a mentor, choreographer, and mother, still shaped by the lessons that first took hold at Gonzaga Prep. “Prep taught me that success isn’t just about achievement,” she says. “It’s about grace, perseverance, and service.”
Fifty years into coeducation, Jeanene Russell Perry’s story reflects Gonzaga Prep at its best: forming graduates who carry their gifts into the world—and use them in service of others.
“Prep was sacred soil for me,” she says. “It’s where everything began.”