Opening Doors: Melissa Stafford Jones ’93

As a Saint Mary’s College undergraduate, Melissa Stafford Jones ’93 danced at the Lesher Center for the Arts. This year, she became executive director of the Dean & Margaret Lesher Foundation, overseeing its support for education, children and families, and the arts in Contra Costa County.

Yet Stafford Jones hardly stayed in place. Working toward her BS in biology, she volunteered in Oakland and Houston with nonprofit organizations assisting those with HIV/AIDS and their families. She returned to campus with an interest in health policy and the social determinants of health, especially in low-income communities.

“College was very formative for me. My volunteer and academic opportunities set me on my career path,” said Stafford Jones, who went on to earn a master’s degree in public health at UC Berkeley.

A graduate internship at the county-run Contra Costa Regional Medical Center led to a permanent position and then to the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California as regional vice president. From there, Stafford Jones became vice president and policy director, and later president and CEO, for the California Association of Public Health and Hospital Systems.

“I worked at the state and federal level to help safety-net health systems serve the most vulnerable in our communities. It was a great alignment of my own values and the policy context,” she recalled.

In 2014, Stafford Jones was appointed regional director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Expanding health insurance enrollments was a priority, and she noted, “To me, it’s a human rather than political issue. I do my work around a mission to improve the lives of other human beings, and I see healthcare as the door.”

Stafford Jones views her role at the Lesher Foundation as continuing this effort, saying, “Now I’m able to bring my experience to my own community and help Contra Costa County thrive.”