Jackie Jenkins-Scott, the former president of Wheelock College and current interim executive director of Boston’s Women’s Fund, was recently honored by Eastern Bank’s philanthropic counterpart, The Eastern Bank Foundation, during their 30th anniversary celebration. The award highlights her work as a “social justice champion” throughout her career in Greater Boston.
Recently vacating her position as Roxbury Community College’s interim president, during the school’s 50th anniversary Scott ranked 94 on Boston Magazine’s 2024 list of Boston’s 150 most influential people.
“Jenkins-Scott’s yearlong 50th-anniversary celebrations at RCC have reminded Bostonians of the vital role the institution plays in the city,” said Boston Magazine, “and ‘interim’ or not, she’s building and planning as aggressively as she did while head of the Dimock Center and Wheelock College: She just announced a new Business Innovation Center and a Center for Economic and Social Justice at the school.”
After 20 years as president and CEO of the Dimock Center, a community health center in the heart of Roxbury, Scott transitioned to become the president of Wheelock College, now merged with Boston University as the Wheelock College of Education and Human Development.
Scott has also worked as an advisor on behalf of governors and mayors throughout the commonwealth in the capacity of an expert or partner to propel public policies that promote educational and social justice. She also serves as a member of several boards throughout the state, including The Boston Foundation, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, and Century Bank, to name a few.
During the celebration, Scott took the opportunity to share her thoughts on the ongoing issues of social justice and equity that continue to affect the commonwealth.
“We are living in challenging times which makes the continued push for equity in health, education, and economic inclusion, and mobility even more important,” Scott said. “We must continue to press ahead with optimism and hope, as the opposite — despair — is just not an option. Our young people getting ready for their first careers, our families, and our neighbors need to be given agency to build their lives on more equitable footing. Let’s all keep pushing for that together across nonprofit, for-profit and policy efforts.”
Nancy Huntington Stager, the president and CEO of Eastern Bank Foundation, commended Scott on her persistent efforts to continue to uplift and expand inclusion throughout Massachusetts.
“Her boundless energy and deep connections in communities of color — including with our next generation of civic and business leaders — together with her superpowers to take on difficult situations, create a vision and rally others to join in the work, and her persistence to stay at it until positive outcomes are achieved is a gift for all of us in Boston and Massachusetts,” said Stager.
In 2016, Scott founded her own consulting firm, JJS Advising, which specializes in leadership development and organizational strategy.
