YANA Town Halls are Live from New York!

YANA Town Halls provide an opportunity for mission-driven alums to exchange ideas and information to help achieve social impact. These events occur live at the Yale Club of NYC and via Zoom. You don’t need to be a member of the Yale Club to join us!

REGISTER

Meet Kimberly Jones ‘00, President
Council for Opportunity in Education

July 30 | 6:30 PM ET – In-Person (Yale Club of NYC) & via Zoom

YANA Town Hall Feature: Educational Equity Under Attack

The letter arrived on May 2, 2025, threatening to eliminate programs that have transformed millions of low-income, first-generation students into college graduates over 60 years. When the Trump Administration’s budget proposal called for completely cutting Federal TRIO Programs, Kimberly Jones ’00 knew she had just months to mount a defense.

As President of the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE), Jones mobilized an unprecedented response across all 50 states. Within weeks, thousands of emails flooded Congressional offices, over 10,000 TRIO alumni signed petitions, and local news stories highlighted how these programs change lives. The grassroots campaign reached every corner of America, from rural communities to urban centers.

But the fight intensified when the Department of Education began issuing grant cancellation notices to programs just days before their funding expired. “These unwarranted cancellations serve as a troubling warning,” Jones wrote to supporters, launching COE’s $500,000 Educational Opportunity Campaign to sustain the defense.

Jones brings unique credibility to this battle. A New Haven native and 1999 Harry S. Truman Scholar, she’s built one of higher education’s most effective advocacy operations since joining COE in 2007. Under her leadership, the organization has secured over a billion dollars in federal funding for underserved students.

Her approach combines Washington insider knowledge with grassroots organizing power. When programs serving 870,000 students annually face elimination, Jones doesn’t just lobby—she mobilizes entire communities to tell their stories.

Join YANA’s Town Hall on July 30 to hear directly from Jones about defending educational equity in an era of unprecedented attacks on opportunity programs.