Monique B. Jones

Monique B. Jones is a visionary leader with an extensive background in mental health, youth violence prevention, philanthropy and systems change. She is a thought leader for diversity, equity and inclusion in the philanthropy sector. Monique was appointed President & CEO of Evanston Community Foundation, making her the second president since it’s founding in 1986 and the first African-American. The Evanston Community Foundation supports local organizations in pursuing their missions through grant making, leadership development and capacity building. The Foundation builds permanent endowments to serve the community in perpetuity. With a mission of helping Evanston thrive now and forever as a vibrant, inclusive and just community, the Foundation builds, connects and distributes resources and knowledge through local organizations for the common good. With 20 years if experience her career and civic experience and interests span the intersections where the lives of those most vulnerable fall victim to structural oppression and inequality. Previous to the Evanston Community Foundation Monique served as Director of Programs for Chicago Foundation for Women where she provided leadership to the grant making, leadership development and capacity building, evaluation and advocacy arm of the Foundation. While there she helped design the organizations capacity building and advocacy programming and launched The 100% Project to end gender bias against women and girls in Chicago. She received the Champion of Diversity award from Chicago African Americans in Philanthropy (CAAIP) for her leadership in program development for women of color grassroots organizers. Her experience also includes serving as Director of Violence Prevention for the Cook County Department of Public Health where she worked to improve the social determinants of health in suburban Cook County and implemented a public health framework for violence prevention efforts. In addition she served as Clinical Director for the Jane Addams Hull House Association where she provided leadership for the mental health programs offered to teens in the independent living and transitional living programs. Monique is a licensed clinical social worker having providing direct mental health services as well as leading systems change to improve human service delivery and empower families to achieve their full potential. She was recently elected to the board of directors for the Evanston Chamber of Commerce. In 2016 she will be completing her service on the board of Chicago Women in Philanthropy as co-chair of the communications committee as well as board co-chair for Chicago African Americans in Philanthropy. She is a contributing writer for WomensENews.com and Huffington Post detailing the importance of mental health stigma prevention, equity and feminism. She often offers her voice to speak on various issues from nonprofit capacity building to youth leadership. She holds a B.A. in Social Work from The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and a M.S in Social Work from The University of Texas at Austin with a concentration in nonprofit administration and planning. Monique enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter in Chicago, gardening, playing and watching football and jogging.