Geneviéve Jones-Wright

Geneviéve L. Jones-Wright, Esq. was raised by her single mother in a low-income home in San Diego, California where devotion to family and self-respect was cultivated. In the fourth grade, Geneviéve decided to follow in the steps of Justice Thurgood Marshall and become a “social engineer.” Since that day, she has been determined to “carry the bags” of Justice Marshall as he had done for Mr. Charles Hamilton Houston.

In keeping with the vision, Geneviéve obtained a J.D. from Howard Law after graduating from the University of San Francisco with a B.A. in mass media communications. She obtained an LL.M. in Trial Advocacy in a one-of-a-kind program specializing in federal criminal defense from California Western School of Law. She has practiced in federal court in both the Southern and Central Districts of California, and proudly served San Diego County as a public defender for 13 years where she represented poor people charged with serious crimes. She now serves the Community in two pioneering roles: the first-ever Legal Director of Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA) and the Founding Executive Director of MoGo.

Beyond the courtroom and policymaking, Geneviéve serves on the Board of Directors for the David’s Harp Foundation, is Vice President of the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association, and is a volunteer attorney for the California Innocence Project. Geneviéve serves on the city of San Diego’s Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention and is an adjunct professor at Point Loma Nazarene University.

Geneviéve is the founder of Motivation.In.Action, a professional motivational speaking firm through which she empowers individuals to “write their own stories” and to live on purpose.

In the summer of 2019, Geneviéve launched an ongoing speaker series on criminal justice reform. This series, “Transformational Tuesdays”, was created so that our community could come together in an intimate setting to engage with and learn from experts, specifically those directly impacted by the criminal justice system who are changing our world and impacting lives in a real way. Geneviéve’s life goal is to use the law as a tool for our most vulnerable groups and to advance society as a whole. For this reason, her most beloved title is community advocate.