Rotary International names Jennifer Jones as first woman president to take office

Rotary International has named Jennifer Jones as the new president of the international service organisation, effective 1st July 2022. With Jones’ appointment, she becomes the first woman to take office in the organisation’s 117-year existence. Jones is a member of the Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland, Ontario, Canada.

During her one-year term , Jones will focus on building new relations with organisations that share Rotary’s commitment to drive impact through humanitarian service and develop new leaders of tomorrow.  

Jones is laden with over three decades of experience as a professional communicator. She will be using her vocational strength as a storyteller to shine a light on the positive and lasting impact Rotary clubs are making to improve lives and strengthen communities across the globe. 

Jennifer Jones, president, Rotary International said, “Diversity has long been one of our core values and continues to serve as a foundation for how we interact with each other and our communities. I know that my experiences and perspective as a woman mean that I bring a different lens to how I see and approach opportunities and challenges for our organization.

She added that she hopes to be a catalyst for similar opportunities for leaders from all backgrounds that comprise the global mosaic of the organisation, mentioning bringing Rotary service projects centre stage and drawing attention to the work the Rotary members are doing.

As the president, Jones will also oversee Rotary’s top goal of eradicating polio. “When we harness our connections, deepen our relationships, and create new partnerships - our collective efforts can change lives for generations,” added Jones. “There is no better proof point of our impact than our effort to eradicate polio.”

Alongside its Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners, Rotary has achieved a 99.9 percent reduction in polio cases, and contributed US $2.4 billion to protect more than 3 billion children from this paralysing disease.