LaTonya Lawson Jones

LaTonya Lawson Jones is a project director and genealogy professional with almost 20 years of experience in the field. Her career began in IT and infrastructure, where she worked as an IT project manager and business systems manager for 15 years. A family research project involving legal documents led her to apply her database expertise to genealogy, ultimately uncovering the deed of gift, a 1791 document filed in Northumberland County, Virginia, that freed 511 enslaved people, the largest manumission by an individual in American history prior to the Civil War. She now serves as project director for the Nomini Hall Slave Legacy Project, which has documented ancestry trees for all 511 families and connected with institutions including the Virginia Historical Society, Northern Neck Historical Society, Historic Williamsburg, and the National Park Service. Jones has created Reparational genealogy, establishing a fund to make genealogy services more accessible to descendants of the enslaved. She maintains her personal website at latonyalawsonjones.com and supports local causes including Pushing the Vision Outreach in Baltimore, the United Way, and the YMCA of Central Maryland. She attributes her success to the unwavering support of her family, who accompany her to events and speaking engagements.