MIAMI, FLA.- The National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) announces the appointment of Jewel Malone as its Chief Operating Officer. Ms. Malone, who assumed her post in August 2016, joins YoungArts following more than a decade of leadership experience across the corporate, government and nonprofit sectors. In her new role, Ms. Malone will work alongside newly appointed President and Chief Executive Officer Carolina García Jayaram, focusing on systems and team-building across the organization to further help the organization realize its vision, elevate awareness, and activate the YoungArts campus as a vital asset for artists in the fabric of Miami’s burgeoning arts and culture community.
“I am excited to partner with Carolina Jayaram and the remarkable YoungArts staff to amplify this organization as a premiere resource for engaging and supporting talented emerging artists,” said Jewel Malone. “I’ve spent my career dedicated to creating equity and access to the arts, and I look forward to forging new strategic partnerships to strengthen YoungArts’ impact on our youth, alumni and the communities that we serve—and to show how the arts can awe-inspire when we need it the most.”
“I am thrilled that Jewel Malone has joined us as Chief Operating Officer,” said Carolina García Jayaram. “Over the years, I have witnessed first-hand her remarkable strategic intuition and singular dedication to helping institutions—cultural and corporate alike—achieve new areas of growth and success. Her passion for philanthropy and the arts, coupled with her proven leadership skills, make her the perfect candidate to help take YoungArts to the next level as a dynamic force in our nation’s cultural landscape.”
Ms. Malone comes to YoungArts from Chicago, where she most recently served as Chief Operating Officer of the Chicago Children’s Choir (CCC), one of the nation’s largest choral music education organizations, serving more than 4,400 youth in 79 schools and 10 after-school neighborhood programs. At CCC, she helped to increase organizational capacity and effectiveness through staff and board development, strategic planning and re-branding efforts, and grew student enrollment by nearly 10 percent.
Prior to joining Chicago Children’s Choir, Ms. Malone served as Deputy Commissioner at the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. During her tenure, she oversaw strategic initiatives and partnerships and cultural grant making program to nonprofits and individual artists. Additionally, she was instrumental in the creation and development of the 2012 Chicago Cultural Plan, a major public engagement process and the first plan of its kind for the city in over 25 years, with goals for sustainability in the arts and future cultural and economic growth. Ms. Malone also served as Vice President for Corporate Responsibility and Global Philanthropy for JPMorgan Chase, where she stewarded over $14 million of charitable grants toward community development, education and arts and culture programs.
Born in the Philippines and raised in Chicago, Ms. Malone received an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
