Family Equality is thrilled to welcome Emily Jones to our Development Department!

Emily Jones is the Manager of Donor Relations for Family Equality. In this role, Emily oversees the organization’s comprehensive donor engagement and stewardship program, ensuring that all donors are recognized as they wish and experience the impact and outcomes of their investment in our mission. Emily also leads logistics on House Parties that our donors and partners host throughout the country and supports the donor experience before, during, and after marquis fundraising events.

Emily brings nearly a decade of experience and has served in a variety of development roles for small and large organizations, always with a lens of creating equal opportunity and furthering social justice. She is extremely passionate about advancing equality for the LGBTQ+ community and strongly believes in the power of philanthropy and grassroots movements to catalyze change.

Emily received both her BA and MA in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University in her home state and relocated to New York City shortly after the pandemic.

Emily lives in Brooklyn with her two cats, Dany and Iroh, and is an active member of the queer community and the BCA Brooklyn Travel League. When she is not working, you may find her at her local haunts playing pool with her friends and teammates, singing karaoke, or (when it’s warm enough) soaking up the sun at Prospect Park or Riis Beach.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn

My absolute favorite pastime is playing pool, whether just for fun or in competition. I am on two league teams in Brooklyn and have found an incredible community in the players there. I also love singing karaoke, attending live shows (theater, music, drag), camping, hiking, dancing, and cuddling up on the couch and watching movies with my kitties.

For as long as I can remember, I have been a champion of inherent human dignity. I firmly believe that every human being is entitled to equity, justice, compassion, and opportunity. This has manifested in roles with different organizations and missions over the years, but my pursuit of social justice has been constant. Working with Family Equality will be the first time, however, that I am fighting for a community to which I belong, which makes my drive highly personal.

I grew up in a small, rural town in Indiana where my exposure to queer individuals and queer families was, unsurprisingly, minimal. It was not until much later in life, and after I left the religion that I was raised in, that I even began to question my own identity and sexuality, and I am still very much on my own journey. But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I belong, and that every individual in the queer community is as deserving of love, family, and security as anyone else existing in this world.

I am absolutely appalled at the attacks that our community is facing under the current presidential administration under the guise of Christian nationalism. The ability to do something – anything – in this moment to protect the lives and freedoms of our young people, our trans brothers and sisters, and LGBTQ+ individuals and families is so valuable and not something that I take lightly coming into this role.

Family equality, simply put, means that ALL families are afforded the equality, freedom, and opportunity to thrive, regardless of the sexuality or gender expression of the parents or children. It means that queer families and nontraditional families are recognized, treated, and resourced as families. Period.

Be present. Be kind.