Posted October 01, 2018 in Press Releases

(CLEVELAND, October 1, 2018)-- Saint Martin de Porres’ is excited to announce its new Vice President of the Corporate Work Study Program, Shameka Jones Taylor. Jones Taylor begins her new role today leading the unique work study program, a staple of the nationally renowned Cristo Rey Network, where each student works 5 days a month at an organization in Northeast Ohio. The salaries our students earn through the work study program will off-set over one-third of the cost of their education.

Jones Taylor spent nearly 21 years working for the City of Cleveland, most recently as the Chief Financial Officer for Cleveland City Council. For the last eight years in this role, she has also directly supervised over 20 Saint Martin students, both “challenging and loving” them as they navigated high school and the Corporate Work Study Program. With her vast experience of working with business professionals in this region, Mrs. Jones Taylor is the perfect person to continue building relationships with our current partners while acquiring new partners to the Program.

“I am excited to be joining a team of outstanding and passionate people who are committed to positively impacting the lives of our young adults” said Jones Taylor. “Joining the Saint Martin community will give me the opportunity to turn my passions of working for, loving, and developing youth into my full time job! I am looking forward to advancing the mission of Saint Martin through the training and placing our young adults into organizational environments to advance them practically and better prepare them for the workforce, this is a challenge that I find most exhilarating.”

Mrs. Jones Taylor is a Cleveland native, who attended Shaw High School, and holds a B.A. and MBA from Baldwin Wallace College, as well as her Master of Divinity from Payne Theological Seminary. She and her husband Lennon live in Highland Heights and have onedaughter and two grandchildren.

“We couldn’t be more excited to have Shameka join our community in such a valuable role,” said Saint Martin President Chaz Napoli. “We feel that we have positioned Saint Martin’s work study program for many decades of future success.”