George A. Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Bread for the City
George A. Jones became Chief Executive Officer of Bread for the City (BFC) on January 2, 1996. BFC’s mission is to alleviate the suffering caused by poverty and rectify the conditions that perpetuate poverty. The agency achieves this goal by, each month, providing free food, clothing, legal, medical and social services to over 5,000 DC families living in poverty, while also advocating for racially equitable public policy reforms that seek to eliminate socio-economic disparities that disproportionately effect people of color and those living on low-incomes.
Mr. Jones is responsible for managing all administrative, financial, and programmatic aspects of the organization. He has led BFC’s growth from a $1.2 million operation in 1996 to a $13.6 million operation in 2015. This growth included overseeing the development of a new 9,000 sq. ft. center in Southeast DC in 2002, as well as the 11,000 sq. ft. expansion of BFC’s Northwest Center, completed in December 2010. The expansion projects included successfully completed capital campaigns of $2.2 million for the SE Center and $8.5 million for the NW Community Health Center expansion.
During Mr. Jones’s tenure, Bread for the City have received numerous awards, including the 501c (3) Tech Innovation Award in 2012, the Olender Foundation Advocate for Justice Award for BFC’s Human Rights Clinic in 2011, the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation’s Excellence in Medicine Award in 2009 and the Washington Post’s Excellence in Non-profit Management Award in 2005.
He was recently named by Georgetown University, the winner of the 2015 John Thompson Jr., Legacy of the Dream award, for his almost 20 years of social justice efforts in DC.
He serves as the past Chair of the Board of the DC Primary Care Association (DCPCA), a non-profit which advocates for the expansion of healthcare access and reduction of healthcare disparities among low-income DC residents. He is also a Board Director for the Capital Area Food Bank, Life Pieces to Masterpieces, the DC Affordable Law firm and serves as a Commissioner on the DC Access to Justice Commission. He formerly served as Chair and Board Director for the Center for Nonprofit Advancement.
Before coming to Bread for the City, Mr. Jones served as a director for Chrysalis, a Los Angeles, CA organization working to help homeless adults secure employment and housing. Mr. Jones holds a B.A. in Psychology from Norfolk State University, in Norfolk, Virginia.