Kristi Jones

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Kristi Jones
Basic facts
Organization:	Roy Cooper gubernatorial administration
Role:	Chief of staff
Education:	•North Carolina Central University •University of North Carolina School of Law

Kristi Jones is a Democratic political advisor in the state of North Carolina. As of April 2021, she was the chief of staff for Gov. Roy Cooper (D), a role she took on in December 2016 after Cooper was elected. She was previously Cooper's chief of staff when he was the state attorney general.

Career

After graduating in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in political science from North Carolina Central University, Jones went on to law school at the University of North Carolina, where she graduated in 1992. According to The Wilson Times, Jones began working for the Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) of Wilson, a nonprofit that provides job training to low-income residents, after law school.

Jim Hunt advisor

Jones got into political work during former Gov. Jim Hunt's (D) 1996 campaign for re-election. She served as a policy advisor and later in his administration in the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and then as the executive director of the Governor’s Initiative on Race Relations.

Roy Cooper advisor

Office of Attorney General

Jones joined Cooper as an advisor to his first campaign for attorney general in 2000. She advised him during his four terms in that office, serving as Cooper's chief of staff in the Justice Department from 2004 to 2016.

Gubernatorial administration

In December 2016, after former Gov. Pat McCrory (R) officially conceded the gubernatorial election to Cooper, Cooper named Jones his chief of staff. At the time of the hiring, Cooper said, "Kristi simply gets things done. We’ve worked together for a long time. She is tenacious about doing the right thing."

Chief of staff

See also: Gubernatorial chiefs of staff

In 2017, Ballotpedia identified Kristi Jones as a gubernatorial chief of staff. A chief of staff is the lead staff member of an administration and is responsible for implementing the governor's agenda.

The role is both a managerial and advisory position, although specific duties vary by administration. The chief of staff typically has the following responsibilities, according to the National Governors Association (NGA):

• Control access to the governor and manage the governor's calendar;
• Monitor the flow of information to the governor on policy issues;
• Oversee gubernatorial Cabinet and staff; and
• Manage and communicate the governor's policy agenda to the state legislature and the public.

In terms of policymaking, the NGA notes that a chief of staff is responsible for bringing policy and communications together: "The chief is responsible for overseeing the development of the governor’s policy agenda. The policy director or advisor is typically responsible for shaping the general concepts and specific details of the agenda with input from the communications director, policy staff and cabinet members. The chief often must take charge and bring the pieces together coherently."

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Kristi Jones'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Kristi Jones - Google News

See also

• Roy Cooper

External links

• Kristi Jones on LinkedIn