Amplify Womxn of UCI: Hearing Our Stories
Senior Director, Enterprise Talent Strategy, UCI HR
Kimberly Jones is a native of Columbus, OH and has been fortunate to have lived and worked across the country. She is a proud graduate of Wilberforce University and obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Organizational Leadership. The entirety of her professional career has been spent in Human Resources, specifically Talent Acquisition. She has worked for some of the most globally recognized corporate brands including Nationwide Insurance Company, Honda, Raytheon, GE Aviation, Northrop Grumman, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Kimberly has managed teams of talent acquisition professionals dedicated to the pursuit of talent in a multitude of career disciplines: Accounting, Actuary, Engineering, Science, and Operations. She has always been both an advocate and champion for diversity and has managed programs in support of INROADS, Tom Joyner Foundation, Hispanic Scholarship Fund, United Negro College Fund, National Black MBA, Society of Women Engineers, Reaching out MBA, National Society of Hispanic MBAs, National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and American Indian Scientist and Engineering Society.
After having spent 20+ years as a member of corporate teams, Kimberly founded Kelton Legend in February 2017. Kelton Legend is a multi-dimensional talent acquisition consulting organization providing services in support of talent acquisition strategy, process, resource management, diversity, career coaching, and HR technology. Kelton Legend is partnered with a number of professional organizations and technology companies across the talent acquisition space and has spoken at conferences such as National Diversity Council, ERE, Smart Recruiters, and Human Capital Institute.
Kimberly originally joined UC Irvine November 2017 as an Instructor in the Department of Continuing Education teaching a course on Technology Applications in Talent Management. She joined UCI full time as a member of the HR organization in July 2020 in the role of Senior Director, Enterprise Talent Strategy.
Kimberly is the youngest of 11 children, the proud Aunt to 4 generations of nieces and nephews, and the proud pet parent of Harper Chanel Jones and Skylar Love Jones. She is a tireless traveler and has visited 6 of 7 continents, including a 6-week deployment to Antarctica in January 2008, including 3 days at the South Pole. She loves music, good food, genuine friendships, and the unending expansion of the universe.
