Jackie Rowe Adams is a life-long resident of Harlem, New York. She attended Wadleigh JHS, Benjamin Franklin High, and the Manhattan Christian Reformed Church, where she began her passionate love for singing. She was a member of the All City- Wide Chorus and regularly sang at church during her formative years. Jackie now sings not only for churches throughout the Harlem community, but also for weddings, funerals, parties, and political gatherings. She appeared in the Off-Broadway musical, “Mama, I Want To Sing,” and has sung the National Anthem at Shea Stadium and at the opening of the Special Senior Olympics in Syracuse, N.Y.

Jackie got involved in community activities at an early age. She became a youth counselor in her church’s Summer Day Camp, and began putting together glee clubs and talent shows. Her career as a community activist began when she went from door to door helping her mother get petitions signed. Jackie has now worked with the Police Athletic League and the City of New York Parks and Recreation Department. She has served on numerous community boards, including Community Board 10, Community Board 12, and the Civic Association Serving Harlem. She has been President of the District 5 School Board, President of Local 299, Vice-President of District Council 37, former Board Chairperson of New York Health + Hospital/Gotham Health – Sydenham Community Advisory Board (CAB), where currently she is the chair of Sydenham’s Patient Liaison Committee & Co-Chair of the Legislative Committee. She is also on the boards of Addicts Rehabilitation Center (A.R.C.), Harlem Week, Inc., and Project Harmony, and is a member of the Mid-Manhattan NAACP. Mrs. Rowe-Adams has also been appointed to several political boards, her most recent include New York Gov. Cuomo’s Covid-19 Vaccine Equity Task Force, New York County DA Alvin Bragg’s Public Safety and Justice Transition Committee and New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ Public Safety and Justice Transition Committee.

Jackie has worked tirelessly with youth and seniors as a music specialist with Parks and Recreation from 1986 until her retirement in late 2021. In 1996, Jackie started the nonprofit organization Talented Seniors and Youth on the Move, Inc., which provided performance opportunities for youth and seniors and college scholarships. After losing two sons to gun violence, Jackie co-founded Harlem Mothers S.A.V.E., an organization instituted to end the dreaded scourge of violence in our community. She has received numerous awards and citations for her social activism, among which are the Charles H. Moore, Jr. Service Award and the St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center Award. Her efforts have inspired love and respect from all who have had the opportunity to meet her.

To add to an already long resume, in 2018 Jackie was cast as a supporting character in the independent film, ’40 Year Old Version.’

Jackie is married to William L. Adams. They now have two sons, Eric and Bryant, who are her greatest motivations.