Alumni Advisory Council

I am a Consultant of Community Outreach for the IU Health East Central Region for the past seven years. I was involved in Public Relations, Marketing, and Human Resources earlier in my career.

I didn't always think it would turn out this way, but my current role aligns with Wilmington College values in that I get to promote civic engagement and a sense of community every day. Our health system values include promoting better access to care and healthier lifestyles.

My advice for students is to not necessarily rush into a major or field of study. You can have an idea, but odds are you'll be a different person coming out of school than starting. I chose the more direct path, and fortunately it worked out eventually (see above).

The Quaker Value that most resonates with me is service and civic engagement. It was during my time at Wilmington College that I first discovered my love for community involvement and service. Two things I’m very passionate about and extremely involved with throughout the greater Raleigh area and beyond today.

I’m a very proud alumni of Wilmington College. I speak about my undergraduate experiences often and have worked hard to broaden recruitment of Wilmington College alums into our school district and promote the college in general to friends throughout the Raleigh area and southeastern region.  Being involved with Alumni Advisory Council when the opportunity presented itself was a perfect fit.

Erin Jones currently serves as Head of R&D Sustainability Strategy for the Crop Science division of Bayer. In this newly created role, Erin provides executive planning and steering for sustainability initiatives across Research & Development (R&D) and Strategy & Sustainability organizations. The role aims to establish and maintain organizational forums to bring commonality, structure, and connection to the overarching sustainability strategy and decision-making processes across the R&D product pipeline and operations.

In her 18-year career, Erin joined Bayer in 2018 after working at Monsanto for 13 years. She has held roles in Sales, selling Asgrow/DEKALB seed; Product Supply, leading employee training programs; and has worked in Research & Development for the last ten years. In her previous role, Erin served as the Head of Sustainability & Outreach for the Plant Breeding organization and was a member of the Global Breeding Leadership Team. Erin’s team was focused on cultivating an understanding of plant breeding innovations and strengthening the positive environmental and societal impact of our business in agriculture. This included providing strategic direction to facilitate public/private partnerships with local community leaders, academic institutions, and scientific societies on behalf of the Breeding organization.

Having grown up on a small beef cattle farm in north central Ohio, she has been inspired since childhood to contribute to environmentally sustainable solutions for agriculture. Erin is also passionate about developing the next generation of leaders and was instrumental in establishing a company-wide employee business resource group for young professionals at Monsanto, now Bayer. This group, now with thousands of members, continues to thrive and plays a critical role in Bayer’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy. Erin holds a MS in Crop Science from the University of Illinois in Champaign, IL, MBA from Webster University in St. Louis, MO, and a BS in Agriculture and Education from Wilmington College in Wilmington, OH. In 2021, she was recognized as a St. Louis Business Journal 40 Under 40 Honoree. In her spare time, Erin volunteers on the FFA Advisory Council at Orchard Farm High School in Saint Charles, MO, is a Co-Chair of the Young Friends Committee at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and a member of the Missouri Botanical Garden Young Friends Council.

The Quaker core value that comes forward from my time at Wilmington College is Service and Civil Engagement. I become a children's librarian and work in neighborhood’s other librarians don't want to work - inner cities or poor rural areas, because this is where I can make a difference in the lives of children who need the most. I stay involved in the community to make the world a better place for kids.

My favorite memory from Wilmington College was working for five Cincinnati Bengals training camps in the dining rooms where they ate. I have some funny stories which could embarrass some of the players now announcing games for the major television networks.

I am involved with the Alumni Council because I enjoyed my time at Wilmington College and formed friendships that continue to this day.  Through the classes I took, my position as a Resident Assistant, and the people I met, I discovered interests and got involved in things that played a role in shaping who I am.

During my senior year, a couple of friends and I would go down to the General Denver for Open Mic Night each week.  We would usually end up running into other students or Wilmington College community members we knew.

My fondest memory is, of course, meeting my wife…. Other fond memories including winning a national competition as part of the Wilmington College Mock Trial team and all the insightful discussions in pre-law and social science courses taught by professors such as Paul Moke, Mary Ellen Batiuk, Mary Rose-Zink, and Charlie Bennett.

I didn't always think it would turn out this way, but my current role aligns with Wilmington College values in that I get to promote civic engagement and a sense of community every day. Our health system values include promoting better access to care and healthier lifestyles.

Wilmington College is a great institution that can prepare you to make a difference in your community… Pursue leadership roles in campus organizations that interest you and, if there isn’t an organization that meets your interests, start one and grow it during your time on campus.

The Quaker Core value that resonates with me most as a Wilmington College alumnus is service and civic engagement.  I come from a family who demonstrated this value through their volunteerism. It has been our way to help make our communities better communities in which to live, work, and play.  Serving on my college’s Alumni Advisory Council is one more way I support this value.

If I could share one piece of advice with current WC students, it would be to savor your time at Wilmington College.  Drink it all in. You’ll blink and it will be 50 years later, and you will appreciate the friends you made, the activities in which you participated, and the education you received while there.  You’ll realize just what an impact attending Wilmington College has had on your life.