Jonathan Njus Email & Phone Number

The mission of Expanding Equity is to build and support a network of private sector companies and leaders who are committed to transforming their workplaces to be more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. At present, the Expanding Equity network includes nearly 100 companies and over 550 HR/DEI leaders from 10 industries who are actively engaged in designing and implementing DEI initiatives. Responsible for the overall strategic direction and day-to-day management of the project, including managing the relationships with the team, consultants, and grantees who are all intimately engaged in this effort. One of the goals of Expanding Equity is to highlight and promote all of the great DEI work that his happening in and with companies, so if you would like to share or talk about it, I would love to hear from you.

Charged with: 1.) hiring, coaching, and managing the professional development for the nearly 20 program officers working on family economic security at the Kellogg Foundation; 2.) developing and leveraging the chapter and foundation's collective subjective matter expertise around economic mobility, job quality, and worker rights issues, and policies; and 3.) sharing knowledge and raising awareness of family economic security trends and opportunities to help inform strategic planning and guide grant making.

Battle Creek, Michigan

Provide leadership and strategic oversight for the foundation's efforts to help low-income parents access good jobs and build sustainable businesses so that they can provide better opportunities for their children. Toward that end, the foundation strives to make labor and capital markets, government and financial systems, and government and business policies fairer and more equitable for these hardworking families. The foundation's family economic security grant making portfolio includes a wide array of workforce development, enterprise development, job quality, worker rights, community engagement and leadership development efforts throughout the country, and in our priority states (Michigan, Mississippi, and New Mexico). We do this work in deep partnership with community, government and business leaders, and also aim to bridge these worlds and align these efforts whenever possible.

Battle Creek, Michigan

Led the foundation's national grant making centered around workforce development, job quality, and employment discrimination. Expanded the foundation's strategic focus beyond job access to job quality, i.e., not just building the ladder into good jobs, but also raising the floor on low-wage jobs, which has resulted in millions of dollars in investments. Focused specifically on equipping low-income workers with the skills and credentials needed to obtain and retain a good job; advancing and adopting living wage, paid sick day, and workplace safety policies that improve the quality of low-wage jobs; and removing barriers that block access to higher-wage jobs for women and people of color. Made one of the initial investments that supported bi-partisan advocacy and organizing that has led to the adoption of automatic criminal record clearing/expungement laws in several states.

Washington, Dc

Detailed to the Domestic Policy Council (DPC) at the White House during President Obama's first term to provide staff support to the DPC’s Special Assistant to the President for Labor and Workforce Policy. Helped to draft President Obama’s Executive Order aimed at eradicating human trafficking in federal contracting (announced on September 25, 2012); and helped to coordinate the Obama Administration’s Job Training Priority Goal to increase alignment and reduce overlap among the federal government’s 47 job training programs with an $18 billion annual allocation.

Washington, Dc

Appointed to the Obama Administration to help advance the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) regulatory agenda aimed at strengthening wage and safety standards for U.S. workers. Acted as a liaison between DOL’s worker protection agencies, DOL senior leadership, the White House, and other federal agencies to develop regulations designed to benefit and protect low-wage, U.S. workers. Coordinated the development of federal regulations that extended minimum wage and overtime protections to approximately 2M home care workers (certified nursing assistants and home health aides), ensuring fair pay for this predominately female and immigrant workforce (announced by President Obama on December 15, 2011).

Chicago, Illinois

Led the policy advocacy, research and organizing efforts for the National Community Tax Coalition (NCTC), a nationwide network of non-profit, community-based organizations that offer free tax preparation and financial counseling services for millions of low-income, working families each year. Spearheaded the national advocacy campaign through a State Advocacy Leaders Network that created the $12 million federal Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) grant program that funds the free tax preparation services of over 200 organizations across the country.

Budapest, Hungary

The fun years...

Greater Chicago Area

The lost years...

Washington, Dc

The formative years...

Bachelor'S, Economics And Political Science

Activities and Societies: Foreign Study: Madrid, Spain Division III College Basketball

Master'S, Public Policy