Elena Conley-Jones (she/her/ella) leads MRBF’s strategic grantmaking and influence work, manages the program team and supports the Foundation’s program-related investment strategies. A member of the program and management teams, Elena trains, supports and supervises network officers and supervises the grants manager. She helps the Foundation maintain an explicit focus on racial equity in everything it does.
Elena has been managing grant portfolios and relationships since arriving at the Foundation in 2014, and her role has continually evolved to include more strategic and managerial functions. Before coming to MRBF, Elena was an organizer with the Beloved Community Center of Greensboro, which focuses on economic and social justice issues. There, she led several teams and campaigns, including Beloved’s civic engagement and get-out-the-vote campaigns, as well as their internship and service-learning programs.
Originally from Boulder, Colorado, Elena moved to North Carolina to attend Guilford College, where she received her B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology. Elena resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband and two stepsons.
