Men To Watch Awards 2026 honors Dr. D’Andre Jones

Dr. D’Andre Jones is a native of Joiner, Arkansas. He graduated from Rivercrest High School in 1991. D’Andre served on the Joiner City Council for two terms and served as staff liaison for US Congressman Marion Berry's 1st Congressional District. D’Andre is a graduate of Rivercrest High School. He also graduated from the University of Arkansas with a BSE. He obtained a Master of Arts in Management and Leadership and a Master of Arts in Human Resource Management from The George Herbert Walker School of Business and Technology at Webster University. In 2018, he completed a Master of Social Work at the Watts College School of Public Service and Community Solutions at Arizona State University. He obtained a graduate certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Leadership from Drury University, and received a Doctorate in Healthcare Administration from the Center for Health Sciences at Oklahoma State University with a 4,0 GPA.

He has served as a guest presenter at many conferences, including the Arkansas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers Conference and the annual Clinton Global Initiative University Meeting. A prolific speaker and lecturer, he has served numerous panels and podcasts focusing on social justice, racial diversity, and political activism locally and throughout the region, state and nationally.  He has served as president and political director of the NWA Democratic Black Caucus, one of the most progressive and active political organizations for minorities in Arkansas.

His commitment to improving the lives of marginalized Arkansans has been unwavering over his many years of service. He is the first African American to be elected to the Fayetteville (Arkansas second largest city) City Council in over 30 plus years, where he serves a second term.  He has been a leader in the Arkansas Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, served on the Executive Board of Directors of the Urban League of Arkansas, was Secretary of the Fayetteville Civil Service Commission, and successfully led the City of Fayetteville and NWA Black Cultural celebration programs for six years. The only region in the state where the community sponsors the Black History Celebration. He served as Chairman of Mayor Lioneld Jordan’s African American Advisory Council, where he was instrumental in leading the City's adoption of racism as a public health crisis. D'Andre is extremely integral in organizing Black Lives Matter in Fayetteville. He has formerly served as chairman of the Fayetteville Civil Rights Commission and a former member of the Arkansas Disability Resource Council, Yvonne Richardson Community Center Board of Directors, and the NWA MLK Planning Council. He is an active member of the NWA NAACP. He is a graduate of Leadership Fayetteville and the South Mississippi County Leadership Academy. He was also selected to attend the Harvard University Emerging Leaders program.   Additional community service efforts have included barbershop initiatives “Get Faded Get Screened”, men’s health and wellness, second chance programs, barbershop books and collaboration with University of Arkansas Medical Sciences Barbershop Talks.

In 2017, D’Andre was awarded the University of Arkansas prestigious Black Alumni Society Community Service Award. In 2018, Celebrate Arkansas magazine named him “One to Watch”. D’Andre received the Envision Award at the City of Springdale MLK Unity Celebration.  He has received the Arkansas Martin Luther King Jr. Award Commission Community Service Award, The Frank Coakley Achievement Award presented on behalf of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Incorporated, and the Health 2.0 Conference Excellence in Healthcare Award. In addition, he was nominated for NW Medical Center Clinical Employee of the Year. He is currently a member of LeadAR. The state premier leadership program.

He is the former chairman of the Black Action Collective and Growing and Coping Together board of directors, a nonprofit that supports children of incarcerated parents. In 2022 D'Andre was appointed to serve on the Economic and Community Development Committee and Vice Chair of the Racial Equity and Leadership Council of the National League of Cities in DC. He has served as the Region 12 Director representing Arkansas and Tennessee of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials, subsequently serving on the board of directors. D'Andre represents the University of Arkansas on the SEC Black Alumni Network Board of Directors, a non-profit of black alumni from SEC schools. He is a member of the Delta Omicron Omega chapter of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Incorporated. He is the social services lead and group facilitator for Behavioral Health NW Medical Behavioral Health in Springdale. Committed to giving back to his native community, D'Andre created and sustained a community food pantry in his grandmother's memory and funds an annual scholarship that bears his name at his alma mater.

As Fayetteville continues to experience unprecedented growth, his leadership and efforts of championing diversity, inclusion equity, economic parity, health, and safety contribute powerfully. D’Andre’s focus is to safeguard Fayetteville's values of a compassionate and vibrant community, honoring accessibility, affordability, stability, diversity, inclusion, safety, and equitable opportunities.