The Old Masonic Temple on Barack Street, the site of Greater Trenton’s office, is also the home of the Trenton Visitors Center. — Photo by Mary Iuvone for Real Estate NJ
By Joshua Burd
The organization charged with promoting economic development in Trenton has hired a city native to serve as a project manager.
In a news release Monday, the nonprofit Greater Trenton announced the addition of Patrick Jones to its team. In the new role, he will focus on coordinating organizational outreach efforts to city, county and state officials and facilitating consistent engagement with residents and community stakeholders.
He will also work with the vice president of marketing and communications to help promote Trenton’s vibrant downtown destination for residents, community institutions and businesses.
“We’re very excited to have another native Trentonian as part of our talented team,” said George Sowa, CEO of Greater Trenton. “Having worked for a number of organizations in the city, Patrick lives and breathes Trenton — and he’s well positioned to have a big impact on our outreach efforts today and well into the future.”
Jones was born in Trenton and raised in neighboring Ewing Township, the news release said. He developed an interest in community initiatives after volunteering with the Ewing Little League and working with the Ewing Department of Community Affairs.
Prior to joining Greater Trenton, Jones served as program associate at Trenton’s Millhill Child & Family Development Center, where he assisted in the implementation of training initiatives for Trenton’s Summer Youth Program training. Jones also presented Millhill’s role in the program at City Hall along with the mayor, summer interns and the Mercer County Chamber’s leadership.
Jones recently earned his bachelor’s in education and political science from Rider University, the organization said. As part of the school’s Bonner Community Scholars Program, he completed more than 1,200 hours of developing and implementing service initiatives in Trenton.
At Rider, he also worked on implementing the university’s annual Global Youth Service Day, which engaged local youth in healthy living educational activities along with a corresponding book fair, where he coordinated the donation of over 4,000 books to area youth.