Toledo, Ohio…Aleiah Jones, Associate Director of the Office of Multicultural Student Success (OMSS) at the University of Toledo, received a 2023 20 Under 40 Leadership Recognition Award on Tuesday, October 24 at the 28th annual 20 Under 40 awards ceremony. She was among the 20 selected from a field of 153 candidates.

Under Jones’ leadership as Associate Director, the Office of Multicultural Student Success (OMSS), creates programs and initiatives to help develop a sense of connection and belonging to support student success. She leads programming including the Latino Youth Summit that reaches 400 high school students each year and has awarded over $100,000 in scholarships. A grant provided funding to support programming for the mental wellness of students of color and she partnered with Equality Toledo to host Toledo’s first Pride Prom. In 2022, OMSS held over 100 events. New initiatives included (Un)documented Ally Training, Pledge to End Antisemitism and a free thrifting event of housewares and clothing for students. Jones also teaches sociology courses at Owens Community College and the University of Toledo.

Jones serves as President of the Latino Alliance of Northwest Ohio, leads the advocacy committee, is an organizer of the Diamante Awards, and is Secretary for Nueva Esperanza Community Credit Union, the first and only Latino credit union in Ohio. With a grant from the U.S. Treasury, Jones is helping Nueva expand into Columbus, Ohio. The UT Latino Alumni Affiliate was awarded “Affiliate of the Year” during her year as President. She serves on the boards of the UT Federal Credit Union, My Sister’s House for Girls, and Toledo Hillel, and is a member of the NAMI Latino Leadership Initiative.

She has presented at numerous conferences and a presentation earned the “Best of Ohio Academic Advising Association” award in 2017. In 2019, Jones was the inaugural recipient of the “Inclusive Excellence “ award from UT, in 2020 she received a Latinx “Professional of the Year” award, and in 2021 she received the “Lancelot Thompson Service to Students” award and won the “Citizen of the Year” award from NASW Ohio Region 1 for her advocacy efforts. This year she received the “Outstanding Woman” award from the University Women’s Commission and the LGBTQ+ “Ally” award” from the Ohio Diversity Council.

Jones earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Sociology from the University of Toledo.