Overview
Prof. Jones serves as Director of Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E) and is an Associate Professor of the Practice of Management at the Fuqua School of Business.
Jones previously served as Executive Director of the Fuqua Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) where she launched initiatives addressing barriers to entrepreneurial action for historically marginalized communities, specifically FoundHER and pitch: A competition for Black founders. Prof. Jones teaches courses on new venture formation and execution: New Venture Discovery, New Venture Development, and Entrepreneurial Execution. Prof. Jones was honored with the Excellence in Teaching Award (elective course) by the Fuqua class of 2021.
Prior to joining Duke, Prof. Jones served as the Executive Director of the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (Lilie) at Rice University where she focused on developing curricular and co-curricular programs for students and faculty across the university. She taught courses on Financing the Startup Venture and Design Thinking, as well as managed the Student-lead Rice Venture Fund.
Prof. Jones co-founded Impact Engine, an investment firm with a mission to bring more capital to a market where financial returns are linked to positive social and environmental impacts.
Prior to joining Rice, Prof. Jones was an Innovation Advisor at RTI International, a leading nonprofit research institute based in North Carolina, where she supported companies, governments, and non-governmental organizations in their quest to commercialize technology-driven new products. Sitting at the nexus of technology, customers, and markets, Prof. Jones has deep expertise connecting user-insights to technology commercialization pathways and business model development and has worked on project ranging from sanitation and energy to agriculture and health.
Previously, Prof. Jones was the Director of Social Entrepreneurship and a Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Kellogg, where she worked with startups, nonprofits and companies to build and finance ventures that create both financial and social returns. She has also served as a faculty lead for the Zell Fellows program for entrepreneurs.
Prof. Jones has experience combining design thinking and Lean Startup practices to optimize business models. She has worked in India, East and West Africa and Latin America on agriculture, education, health, and water-focused ventures. Her contributions have been recognized by the Triangle Business Journal 40 Under 40.