Leading Well

Ashoka Fellow Spotlight: Bree Jones

November 25, 2025 • By: Courtesy of Ashoka
Nonprofit CornerThe Trailblazers
Bree Jones, Founder, Parity
Summary

Bree Jones is turning abandoned structures within historically redlined neighborhoods into opportunities for Black homeownership and the revival of once-thriving Black communities. 


Bree Jones is rebuilding what America tried to erase. In the historically redlined neighborhoods of Baltimore—places long written off as “unredeemable”—she sees not blight, but possibility. Through Parity, the nonprofit she founded, Bree is transforming blocks of abandoned rowhouses into affordable homes for Black first-time buyers, restoring wealth, stability, and dignity to communities that were systematically stripped of all three. 

Where most developers chase quick returns and already-stable neighborhoods, Bree does the opposite. She organizes cohorts of aspiring Black homeowners, helps them prepare financially, and then uses their collective buying power to fund the rehabilitation of entire blocks of vacant homes. Instead of displacing residents, her model ensures that legacy neighbors stay rooted—and benefit—as their community rises. 

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