The board of Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) has elected Yvonne L. Jones as the new chair of the board of directors for 2017-2018. The nonprofit supports low-income residents in the Boston and Mystic valley areas to transition from poverty to stability and further advancement.
A member of the board since 2005, Jones has served as vice chair for ABCD’s executive committee and chair of ABCD’s elder service committee. She was a 2002 recipient of the ABCD Community Service Award and represented Dorchester on the Dorchester Neighborhood Service Center Advisory Board.
“Yvonne Jones is a nurturer and advocate for Dorchester and other communities of Boston. Her background experience with children and deep concern for the elderly highlight the humanitarian within,” said John J. Drew, ABCD president and CEO. “This leadership role is a natural for her.”
Jones previously worked in the Massachusetts education system and spent more than 12 years at VIP Child Care, Inc., as a site director/support service specialists. Prior to that, she served ten years with Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity, Inc. (METCO) as a director for Cohasset and Belmont. During the late ’70s and early ’80s she worked for Boston Public Schools as a library and reading paraprofessional.
While with VIP Child Care, Inc., Jones oversaw staff, providers, budget allocations and regulation compliance and provided support for linear programs, including accreditation programs, community partnerships and transportation. With METCO, she developed and managed the annual budget and coordinated diversity awareness and multicultural activates. She also oversaw development projects as they applied to staff, parents and students.
In addition to ABCD, Jones volunteers with Generations Inc., a literacy program with the Boston Public Schools, and she is a site team leader at the Pauline A. Shaw Elementary School in Dorchester. She also is an information volunteer assisting patients for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
Jones is an ordained deacon for the Ebenezer Baptist Church and holds a bachelor’s degree in human service management from Lesley University and a master’s in education administration from the UMass Boston.
