Shakita Brooks Jones

Education

MSW, University of Alabama

MPA, Auburn University Montgomery

BSW, Troy State University

About Me

Shakita Brooks Jones is a Montgomery, AL native. She is a graduate of Troy State University with a BS in social work and a Master of Social Work from the University of Alabama. She also has a master’s degree in public administration and a nonprofit management certification from Auburn University Montgomery. She is the founder of Central Alabama Alliance Resource & Advocacy Center. Jones is also the community engagement coordinator at Kress on Dexter in Montgomery, AL, a $25 million renovation project orchestrated by a philanthropic couple that resides in New York and wanted to invest in the South.

Jones focuses on inter-generational community story-telling and art projects in which the stories of African-American entrepreneurs, community members and little known contributors to our Civil Rights history are shared and highlighted. Her work has been featured in a local magazine, RSVP Montgomery. Additionally, RSVP gave Jones the honor of being selected to their “List” of people in the community who were making significant contributions. In May 2019, she was selected by the Montgomery Advertiser, the leading newspaper of the capital city in Alabama, as a community hero because of the work that she does in the community.   

In Fall 2017, Jones joined the Auburn University’s Social Work Program as an adjunct instructor, then accepted the position as an assistant clinical professor in Fall 2020. She teaches Social Welfare Policy, Methods III and Practicum. Her areas of interest are understanding more about the root causes of poverty and the plight of the working poor; exploring increased HIV/AIDS rates in Alabama; and applying practice knowledge to remove historical socioeconomic barriers that have disproportionately impacted Alabama’s working poor in rural areas. In Alabama Coalition Builds Leadership for Change, Jones writes for Equal Voice Action about grassroots community organizing work in Alabama. She has also contributed to the book, African American Student’s Guide to College Success, in which she shares her experience and advice about her journey as a first generation college student.  

Research Interests

poverty, working poor, socioeconomic barriers

Publications

• Jones, S. B. (2015). This Is How We Did It: Our Undergraduate Experiences. In F. E. Brooks & G. L. Starks, African American Student’s Guide to College Success (pp. 127-131). Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood.
• Jones, S. B. (2017). Alabama Coalition Builds Leadership for Change.