Maurice Antonia Jones (born September 14, 1964) is the former CEO of OneTen [1], a coalition of companies dedicated to creating one million jobs for African Americans by the end of the 2020s.[2] Prior to OneTen, he was president and CEO of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a national community development financial institution.[3] Previously, he served as the Deputy Secretary of HUD in the Obama administration, and then as the Virginia Secretary of Commerce in the cabinet of Governor Terry McAuliffe.[4]
Jones was born in rural Mecklenburg County and grew up on his grandparents' tobacco farm near the town of Kenbridge.[5] He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Hampden–Sydney College, where he graduated Omicron Delta Kappa, before attending St. John's College, Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship and the University of Virginia School of Law.[6]
In November 2020, Jones was named a candidate for United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Biden administration.[7]