Madison Heights-based Health Advocate Minou Jones Honored

Minou Jones, founder and CEO of the Madison Heights-based nonprofit Making It Count Community Development Corporation (MIC) and chair of the Detroit Wayne-Oakland Tobacco-Free Coalition (DWOTFC), has received the Public Health Innovation Award from the National Network of Public Health Institutes.
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Minou Jones
Minou Jones

Minou Jones, founder and CEO of the Madison Heights-based nonprofit Making It Count Community Development Corporation (MIC) and chair of the Detroit Wayne-Oakland Tobacco-Free Coalition (DWOTFC), has received the Public Health Innovation Award from the National Network of Public Health Institutes.

The award is presented to an organization or individual who has taken a risk and developed an innovative solution or created a unique partnership resulting in new approaches, scalable ideas, and new ways of working together.

At MIC, Jones is the strategic and operational leader of numerous programs, services, and initiatives that help improve underserved communities. Through the DWOTFC, she guides a multi-sector coalition of stakeholders working to change public policy in Michigan and ban flavored tobacco products in the state.

“This work is a commitment to a healthier future for our children, families and cities, and so its deeply meaningful to me,” says Jones. “The important thing is that we are having a positive impact in our community and nationally. It is an honor to be recognized, but I’m even more grateful to every one of our partners who show up and show out time and time again for the hard work of protecting our kids and making all our communities healthier. This award is a recognition of their efforts and commitment.”

Jones’ work has directly influenced public policymakers in Detroit, where the city council responded to DWOTFK’s education efforts by passing a resolution which asks the state of Michigan to ban flavored tobacco and eliminate outdated state pre-emption policies which prohibit cities from regulating flavored tobacco within their own borders.

The resolution was approved by the city council without objection. It is now a key element of larger coalition education and advocacy efforts urging the state legislature to modernize pre-emption laws, so city leaders have the authority to ban flavored tobacco and protect their own residents.

The National Network of Public Health Institutes Awards Program recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations that have made exemplary contributions to improving the public’s health and embody NNPHI’s mission and values.

NNPHI’s mission is to support national public health system initiatives and strengthen public health institutes to promote multi-sector initiatives resulting in measurable improvements of public health structures, systems, and outcomes.