Staff
Vanessa Griddine-Jones,J.D.
Executive Director
Vanessa Griddine-Jones is a strategist, lawyer, and civic leader with more than two decades of experience at the intersection of law and public policy. Her career has been defined by work to ensure that institutions and public life reflect the communities they are meant to serve.
She most recently served as Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute, where she developed national policy programming engaging Members of Congress, the private sector, and civil society. Before CBCI, she was the first African American to serve as Speechwriter and Senior Advisor to the President of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in the European Parliamentary Assembly.
Vanessa is the founder of Evolved Agenda, a boutique consulting firm specializing in high-level relationship building for strategic partnerships and impactful advocacy. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the League of Minority Voters and on the National Council of Negro Women's National Social Justice Committee. Her work has been featured in The Hill, CBS News, and Monarch Magazine. She holds a B.A. from Columbia College, a J.D. from Southern University Law Center, and an LL.M. in International Law from the University of Houston Law Center.