Class of 1996 Profile: Jeff Jones

As part of the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the YTI Class of 1996, YTI alumni are interviewing each other, discovering and recording what is happening in the lives of our YTI family today. If you are a member of the class of 1996, and would like to participate in this project, contact Sara Toering at sjtoering@gmail.com

Jeff is interview here by Sara Toering:

After graduating from high school Jeff Jones attended Macalester College in St. Paul -- in no small part because 1996 mentor David Colby recommended it so highly. Jeff focused on urban studies at Macalester — a rare small liberal arts school in the middle of a city — to learn about how cities work. After graduating from Macalester, Jeff had the incredible opportunity to intern with Jim Lehrer at the NewsHour in Washington, D.C. during PBS’s coverage of the events of September 11, 2001.

After his internship, Jeff came home to the Midwest — a place he described as feeling “a bit more honest and down to earth.” Jeff worked for a period with the Minnesota State House of Representatives, and was soon hired as a producer for Minnesota Public Radio where he has served for almost a decade. Jeff has produced call-in shows, breaking news events and the regional version of All Things Considered. When I asked him what it meant to “produce a show,” Jeff explained that his job is to come up with the content of the radio shows by considering what his audience wants to hear. “What does my audience want to hear tonight when they tune in to listen to All Things Considered? What stories do people need to know and how do we cover those stories? Do we send a reporter out? Book a guest on the phone?” Jeff and his team record interviews from 10-20 minutes long and then edit those interviews down to roughly 3.5 minutes for his audience because “people are busy and they honor you by giving you their attention and you have to respect that and give them as much information as is useful to them and then move on.” Jeff enjoys his work — he loves learning about multiple new things each day and approaching the challenge of boiling the stories down for folks so that they have the information they need to make decisions about important public issues.

Now Jeff works for Minnesota Public Radio’s Public Insight Network -- a group of 120,000 people around the U.S. who have agreed to share their expertise and experience with journalists. Those journalists work for radio, TV, internet and newspaper newsrooms across the nation and they are always looking for new and interesting people to sign up. Jeff says every YTI alum should become part of the Public Insight Network. All you commit to is occasional e-mails from journalists when they think you may have useful insight to share about stories they’re working on. Go to www.pinsight.org to learn more. Or contact Jeff at jjones@mpr.org.


Jeff met his wife, Jessica, in college while they were both attending a seminar at the United Nations hosted by the Presbyterian Church. He and Jessica attend Central Presbyterian Church in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota — their pastor is none other than the Rev. David Colby.

When asked about the impact YTI had on his life, Jeff shared that while he did not realize it at the time, he later deeply appreciated having permission to ask questions at YTI. Jeff walked into YTI in 1996 not even knowing why he was there — he felt secure in his faith and Presbyterian church community and he recalls not being sure what YTI was intended to accomplish. And then he walked out of YTI having no idea what he believed. Yet, because of all of the questions raised at YTI, Jeff commented that his experience of faith and religion became much deeper. He had assumed that if he walked away with questions that would mean his faith was shaken — but instead “it was so much richer.”

At this point in his life in his work with MPR, Jeff spends all day asking questions and finding reasons to be skeptical — “but its ok to do that—not only is it ok but its imperative that we don’t take things at face value. We need to challenge those who are most influential in the world and dialogue and conversation are a part of it. “ Jeff recalled YTI conversations and commented that “we sat around at YTI for a month talking with people from other parts of the country about stuff we didn’t know much about and heard people’s stories and got into fights and it was wonderful to sit there in conversation with folks.” Jeff’s roommate was someone he often disagreed with both politically and religiously but with whom he had so much fun. Jeff sees how folks in the public sphere act as if you have to destroy and take down others, but “normal people disagree with people they love all the time.” Fifteen years later at his job on the radio, Jeff is trying to create a space where members of the audience can be listened to and have access to other points of view in a civil arena.

One of the issues Jeff is exploring in his life right now is the balance between work and family and self. Where does our identity come from? Who am I? Jeff articulated the ways in which he has been lucky enough to have a job that he loves and that is interesting to others. But now he has a beautiful five-month old daughter and a house and family — and his job is still cool but is no longer the thing that defines him. But what does? Is he just a father? Is there something about the outdoors and the natural world that gives him energy and recharges him in a way he didn’t realize before? Jeff asked “how do I get out of the office and the nursery and into the natural world and make that part of my life? How can I respect and honor the natural world?”

Another question Jeff is pondering is the importance of physical place in our lives. “We now find the same restaurants and stores everywhere and we all interact on the level playing field of Facebook and Twitter -- where we are becomes less evident and important.” Jeff has recently been reflecting on what we can do, both professionally and personally, to enhance our experience of place and get people to think about what is distinct and unique and wonderful about the places that we live, work and play. “What is the vocabulary around place and how can we remind each other that its interesting? I know what Facebook looks like and I know what Home Depot looks like. But what is the story of that river? What used to be on this place?”

You can get in touch with Jeff at: Jeff1863@aol.com