F&M Stories
Honorary Degree Recipient: Jason T. Cone '99
Jason Cone, who graduated from Franklin & Marshall in 1999 with a joint major in biology and government, has more than 20 years’ experience leading nonprofit organizations that respond to complex humanitarian crises, mount international and national social change advocacy campaigns, and manage security and risk incidents.
As the chief public policy officer of Robin Hood, New York City’s largest anti-poverty philanthropic organization, Mr. Cone oversees a $12 million grant-making portfolio tackling issues such as child poverty, criminal justice, affordable housing, child care, and tax policy reform. Prior to working at Robin Hood, Mr. Cone worked at Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF-USA) for 15 years. He completed his tenure at the organization as U.S. executive director, leading a staff of more than 200 with an annual budget of $370 million. He led international communications and policy advocacy campaigns on childhood malnutrition, access to medicines, the global refugee crisis, and major epidemics, such as the West African Ebola epidemic and HIV/AIDS.
Mr. Cone was MSF-USA’s chief liaison and negotiator with the Obama and Trump administrations on issues ranging from global health and counterterrorism to the protection of health care in conflict zones. After the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, while continuing to work at Robin Hood, he was among the cofounders of BlueCheck Ukraine, which has given more than $4.2 million to local Ukrainian organizations providing emergency humanitarian aid. He is president of BlueCheck’s board of directors.
Mr. Cone is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an internationally recognized speaker and writer on global humanitarian issues. He has published essays and opinion pieces in The New York Times, Time, Politico, Harvard International Review, Foreign Policy, and other publications. He was nominated for a News & Documentary Emmy for his executive producer role on “Starved for Attention,” a documentary series on childhood malnutrition. Mr. Cone has completed programs on nonprofit leadership and public policy at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School and the Harvard Kennedy School’s Executive Education program. He lives in Rutherford, N.J., with his wife, Christie Del Rey-Cone, also a member of Franklin & Marshall’s Class of 1999, and an employment attorney for NBC Universal, and with their two children, Anabella and Leo.
Jason Cone, for your selfless, hands-on approach to leadership; for your continued commitment to fighting poverty in New York City; and for your decades of determination in responding to complex humanitarian crises around the world, Franklin & Marshall College bestows upon you the Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humane Letters.
Five Facts About Jason Cone ’99, Commencement Speaker
Get to know Jason Cone ’99, chief public policy officer of Robin Hood and former U.S. executive director of Doctors Without Borders.Read More »
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