Al Jones Named to Board for Nonprofit Dezart Performs of Palm Springs
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Al Jones Named to Board for Nonprofit Dezart Performs of Palm Springs
Esteemed Education Leader Appointed by Presidents Bush and Obama to Advisory Roles Among Other Accomplishments
27 January 2020 – Palm Springs, CA: Al Jones, an internationally known leader in higher education, has been named to the board of directors for the nonprofit Dezart Performs theatre company of Palm Springs. Jones currently serves as chairman of the Palm Springs International Airport Commission, on the Desert AIDS Project Partners for Life Leadership Committee, and on the CSU Palm Desert Campus Advancement Board and its Executive Committee. He is also an Allegro member of the Palm Springs Opera Guild and a former board member of Sanctuary Palm Springs, The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert, CV Repertory Theatre, and the Waring International Piano Competition.
“Al brings incredible experience, wisdom and insight to our volunteer board,” said Clark Dugger, Board President for Dezart Performs. “We are honored and excited to have him as part of our leadership.”
“I’m excited to join the board of Dezart Performs and help further expand their mission of providing incredibly thought-provoking and relevant theatre to our community,” said Jones. “Together, I believe we can expand our programming and provide new areas of growth, particularly in outreach programs for our youth.”
Jones spent 45 years in higher education administration that included 30 years in the Chancellor’s Office of California State University as the Assistant Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs, Student Academic Support, where he coordinated academic support in twenty-six programs to 23 CSU campuses. This was followed by a five-year assignment in Washington, D.C. as the Vice President for Postsecondary Collaboration to states implementing new English/language arts and mathematics standards known as the Common Core. He currently serves as the Project Director of a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant awarded to the California Education Round Table, which consists of the California Department of Education, California Community Colleges, California State University, University of California, and the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities.
He was appointed by Presidents Bush and Obama to serve on the 11-member Congressional Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, which provided advice and counsel to the Secretary of Education and Congress on student financial aid policy issues. He also was appointed to California’s Scholarshare Investment Board (529 Family Savings Plan), California’s Governors Interagency Coordinating Council on the Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems, California’s P-16 Council charged with examining ways to improve student achievement at all levels, and as a nationally-elected Trustee of The College Board.
Dezart Performs, one of the Coachella Valley’s preeminent theatre companies, recognizes that the performing arts enrich the life and culture of a community, promote greater understanding and provoke insightful discussion. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit theatre company, its mission is to provide an artistic home for bold and cutting–edge plays, creating an atmosphere of artistic growth for actors, writers, and directors who uniquely contribute to the diverse theatrical environment in the Coachella Valley.