Click to see photos from the reception honoring the 2010 Exponent Award recipients.
The 2010 Meyer Foundation Exponent Award winners are featured in The Washington Post.
About Kim Y. Jones
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Advocates for Justice and Education
Ms. Kim Y. Jones is an attorney who has worked extensively in the area of education policy, particularly, delinquency, special education, and children's mental health. She has worked for the last ten years in community-based organizations in the District of Columbia. Ms. Jones has worked locally and nationally on community organizing initiatives where she was responsible for ensuring the continuity of care for children, youth, and families. Ms. Jones is the former National Advocacy Director/Public Policy Analyst for the National Association of Community Action Agencies and former Press Relations Assistant for the Office of Press Relations for the U.S. Department of State.
Ms. Jones was a court monitor for the Special Master for the Evans/Pratt Monitoring Project where she was responsible for monitoring resident care, court ordered services, and long-term care options for persons with mental retardation. Ms. Jones is a member of the National Multicultural Advisory Board for the Alliance of Parent Centers; The D.C. Alliance of Youth Advocates; The National Advisory Board for the Special Education Advocates Training Program; The Board of Directors for SchoolTalk, Inc., The State Advisory Boards for Special Education, and the Advisory Board for Multicultural Community Services, the D.C. P.I.R.C.
She is a native Washingtonian educated in the public schools of the District of Columbia. She received a Bachelors of Science degree from Northeastern University, in Boston, Massachusetts and graduate work in Sociology at the American University and received her Juris Doctorate from the District of Columbia School of Law.
Key Accomplishments
Kim Y. Jones
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Advocates for Justice and Education
Service Area: District of Columbia
Founded in 1996 by Kim Jones, a third-generation DC native, and fellow DC School of Law graduate Bethann West-James, Advocates for Justice (AJE) is dedicated to ensuring that young people with special needs in the District of Columbia get the education they are entitled to by law and to promote school accountability. Kim was moved to start the organization by her own personal experience as an advocate for her brother, who was severely injured in a car accident and faced an uphill battle in gaining access to medical and rehabilitative services.
AJE services expanded to include legal representation by staff and pro bono attorneys.
AJE's two parent training and information centers in Columbia Heights and Anacostia together serve more than 3,000 parents each year.
The parent-to parent peer advocacy program offers six-week training on leadership skills, laws supporting special education, and advocacy skills.
Kim has served as an advisor to the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education and anadvocate on policy issues affecting special needs students and their parents.
Client Stories
(Posted on VIMEO)
