Marcia Jones

Marcia Jones has over thirty years as an accomplished professional who developed excellent relationships with major clients in the corporate, government, and not-for-profit sectors, as a consultant, project manager, conference, and event planner. During those years she successfully negotiated mutually beneficial outcomes for all stakeholders, by project-managing conferences and convenings in West and South Africa, Switzerland, China, India, Mexico, and the US for HIV Prevention.

For the past 12 years, she has integrated her wealth of talent with her passion for wine and worked tirelessly to increase equity and diversity in the wine industry. In 2011, she founded Urban Connoisseurs. The mission of Urban Connoisseurs is to affect sustainable growth in the Black Winemaker community by increasing the number of Black Winemakers in the US and abroad and creating opportunities for the next generation to pursue various careers in the wine industry. Recognizing the severe lack of diversity in the industry, she created the Black Winemakers Scholarship Fund, providing scholarships to students of African descent majoring in Viticulture, Enology, and like sciences. In 2023, she created the Bridge Builders Initiative to close the gap between Black students and Black Winemakers. To further highlight the diversity in the wine industry and the need for more diversity, she is currently working on a documentary and book.

Marcia joined the O&G Racial Equity Collaborative as a Project Manager turned Collaborative Partner in 2021. Marcia provides strategic insight and expertise that supports visioning and strategic planning, as well as project management, technological operations, and administrative support.