Melique Jones, Chief People Officer for the Lincoln Center, grew up with her mother and grandmother in Harlem. From an early age, her family set the expectation that she would make a difference in the world. Despite falling in love with the arts and journalism during college, Melique chose to attend law school and has ultimately done more than she could have imagined with her JD. In this episode, Melique shares with Merle Vaughn her journey which started as a journalist, her DEI experience in big law, and how both prepared her for her current Lincoln Center position.
Melique Jones is the Chief People Officer for the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA). As such, she focused on traditional Human Resources functions as well as talent acquisition and development, implementing DEI practices for a thriving and inclusive employee culture, and acting as a partner and collaborator for LCPA’s leadership team and staff, shaping growth strategy and organizational design.
Previously, Melique served as the Chief Talent Pipeline and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at Skadden, one of the world’s premier global law firms. In her role, she worked alongside members of Skadden leadership to set strategy and measures for increasing diversity in the firm’s attorney talent pipeline, and enhancing workplace inclusion, equity, and belonging. She also worked with partners to leverage firmwide DEI strategy and resources in support of client relationships.
Prior to her career in DEI and talent development beginning in 2006 and assuming leadership of the firm’s DEI department in 2011, Melique spent more than six years as a marketing and communications professional at Skadden. Before joining Skadden, she worked for a decade in communications and media, primarily at Dow Jones & Company, including The Wall Street Journal.
Melique earned a B.A. in journalism from New York University and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.
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