National Council for Research on Women

Annual Awards Dinner Main Page

Ingrid Saunders Jones

Ingrid Saunders Jones is Senior Vice President, Corporate External Affairs at The Coca-Cola Company and Chairperson of The Coca-Cola Foundation. In her capacity as Senior Vice President of Corporate External Affairs, Ms. Jones directs the vision and involvement of The Coca-Cola Company in community, philanthropic, and civic affairs.

As Chair of The Coca-Cola Foundation, she leads the company’s philanthropic commitment to education. Under her leadership, The Coca-Cola Foundation surpassed its goal of contributing $100 million to education in the 1990s, including scholarships for students of color in higher education and teacher preparation programs. In addition, Ms. Jones serves on the board of The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, which provides scholarships to high school students from across the country.

A native of Detroit , Ms. Jones earned a Bachelor’s degree in Education at Michigan State University and a Master’s degree in Education at Eastern Michigan University .

A teacher by training, Ms. Jones is the immediate past chair of the board of directors of United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta and is a board member of the Council on Foundations, the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation, the Woodruff Arts Center; and is a member of the downtown Atlanta Rotary Club and the Society of International Business Fellows.

In recognition of her work in the corporate world, as well as her contributions to civic and community causes, Michigan State University bestowed an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree upon Ms. Jones, an honor she has also received from the Atlanta College of Art and Morris Brown College in Atlanta .

Recognition of her work and contributions over the past year include the coveted Institute of Human Relations Award from the American Jewish Committee’s Atlanta Chapter and the 2002 Woman Looking Ahead Woman of the Year --- among others.