James E. Jones, President of Family Service of Northwest Ohio (1998-2015), Portrait by Leslie Adams

James E. Jones has spent his life and career working in the mental health field. We attended Adrian College as an undergrad, earning his Bachelor of Arts before attenting the University of Michigan as a graduate student where he earned his Masters in Social Work. After grad school, Jones worked for the Juvenile Court as a probation officer and then for the Friend of the Court as an enforcement officer. Jones then returned to Adrian, Michigan where he aggressively started three different mental health agencies and services during his seventeen years there.

The first agency, Call Someone Concerned/Crisis Walk-In Center had a staff of 25 employees and 150 trained volunteers covering 24 hours a day. The second agency Jones established was the Domestic Violence Shelter which housed six to eight women or families at a time. Finally, Jones saw the need for and helped establish the Hope Center, specifically for the needs of the developmentally disabled.

In 1987, Jones became the Executive Director of the Family Service Association in Beloit, Wisconsin. He spent twelve years providing many different mental health programs and services for the community. It was his brain child to estalish a community festival called "Beloit: A Family Place", which provided family fun, family education, and family activities.

James Jones moved to Toledo, Ohio in 1998 to become the President/CEO of Family Service of Northwest Ohio (FSNO). There were FSNO offices in Lucas, Wood, Fulton, Williams, and Ottawa counties. He supervised over 240 employees and managed an ongoing budget of $6-8 million.

In 2016, Mr. Jones retired from his mental health responsibilities but continued his life's work by volunteering at a local hospital. He has expressed that he is proud of his work over the years with so many dedicated mental health professionals, and comments, "We provided excellent caring programs and services for so many in need."