Joseph Jones

Founder and President & CEO of the Center for Urban Families, Center for Urban Families
Baltimore City, Maryland

The Baltimore-based Center for Urban Families was established to empower low-income families by enhancing both the ability of women and men to contribute to their families as wage earners and of men to fulfill their roles as fathers. Prior to founding CFUF, Joe Jones developed and directed the Men’s Services program for the federally funded Baltimore Healthy Start initiative and replicated the Baltimore affiliate of the nationally recognized STRIVE employment services program. Jones has received numerous awards and honors for his leadership and programming including the Johns Hopkins University Leadership Development Program’s Distinguished Leadership Award, an honorary Doctorate in Public Service from Morgan State University, the Walter Sondheim Public Service Award, the White House Champion of Change, and was a 2013 CNN Hero.

My Truth

The problem I am trying to address is the seemingly intractable generational poverty of urban communities with a goal of not just putting band-aids on poverty but obliterating it with a focus on family and with an intentionality of including men within the family by creating scalable pathways to family stability and economic success for individuals and families.

Stories featuring Joseph Jones

Through careful and rigorous research, we know that there is a better way to approach child support policy to build strong families and communities.
BlogJanuary 11, 2023
A commitment to rigorous learning and evaluation is fundamental to the implementation of a two-generation (2Gen) approach so that we’re me...
Ascend NetworkMarch 10, 2022
Four outstanding organizations and partnerships have been selected to receive flexible grant funding to accelerate their work moving children and fami...
BlogDecember 9, 2020
Black Lives Matter. As a collective of leaders committed to advancing two-generation strategies to end multigenerational poverty, we believe that the ...
BlogJune 29, 2020
Dear Governors, First and foremost, thank you for your leadership during these unprecedented times, and good wishes to you, your family, and your staf...
BlogMay 4, 2020
Presented by the Aspen Institute in partnership with the Atlantic, in its 15th year, the Aspen Ideas Festival is the nation’s premier, pub...
BlogJuly 12, 2019
Kwame AnkuChairman and CEOBlack Star Fund Sacramento, CAMy Vision – The problem I am focusing on solving is breaking the economic disparity...
Ascend FellowshipJune 19, 2019
2018 Ascend Fellows
NEWS RELEASE Contact: Lindsay Broyhill Ascend at the Aspen Institute Tel: 202.721.5596 Lindsay.broyhill@aspeninstitute.org Prestigious Aspen Institute...
Press ReleasesSeptember 6, 2018

Convenings Featuring Joseph Jones

Location: Aspen Meadows, 845 Meadows Rd, Aspen, CO 81611
At Aspen VisionXChange, we aimed to:...
ConveningJuly 31, 2023
– August 1, 2023
Location: Aspen, CO (in-person) & Live Webcast (virtual)
Everyone deserves the opportunity to find their talents, support their families, and be the best version of themselves. Hear how leaders and communities are using art, and their voices and power to challenge perceptions and build ways for families...
ConveningAugust 1, 2023

Resources Authored By Joseph Jones