Women To Watch Awards 2026 honors Katrina Jones

Katrina M. Jones is an executive leader who transforms complex people strategy into measurable organizational performance, building the systems, structures, and cultures that allow organizations to scale with both speed and intention.

Born in Barbados and raised in New York, Katrina brings a grounded, community-centered

perspective to one of the most consequential questions in organizational life: how do you build a workforce that is not only capable, but truly supported?

As Senior Vice President of Human Resources for a $1 billion nonprofit organization, she architects human capital strategy across seven states, leading a workforce at the intersection of healthcare, community services, and equity-driven impact. Her leadership operates at the nexus of scale and complexity, where aligning people, structure, and leadership is not theoretical. It is the work. The result is stability where there was strain, growth where there was stagnation, and long-term impact where organizations once operated in survival mode.

Katrina is the leader to call when the stakes are highest. Whether navigating rapid expansion, organizational transformation, or structural recalibration, she brings a rare combination of strategic vision and operational discipline. From reimagining hiring architectures to overhauling workforce frameworks, her work ensures that employees are not merely supported. They are positioned to perform, advance, and succeed.

Her influence reaches far beyond her organization. As a contributing member of the Forbes HR Council and the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council, Katrina shapes national conversations on the future of work, workforce equity, and the evolving role of HR leadership. Her impact has been recognized through the prestigious HR Executive Honor Roll and the Crain's New York Notable Black Leader distinction, among others. In 2025, she completed the CHRO Academy at the National Academy of Human Resources, joining a distinguished cohort of senior HR leaders actively redefining the field.

A dedicated mentor and champion of emerging talent, Katrina invests in the next generation of professionals across industries and backgrounds, because she understands that leadership is not only about the organizations you build, but the leaders you help create.

At her core, Katrina's philosophy is simple and uncompromising: strong organizations are not accidental. They are designed. She leads with clarity, accountability, and unwavering intention, guided by the belief that when people are set up to succeed, the organization succeeds with them.

Her most cherished role, however, remains being a mother to her two sons. They are her greatest reminder that the work is never abstract. Building a stronger workforce and serving the communities that depend on it are not separate goals–they are the same mission.