Aiding communities along the path to self-sufficiency is what motivates Darin Lamar Jones to serve as a board member for Tearfund USA. He is dedicated to building systems, organizations, and institutions that enhance the affluence of the world’s most under-served communities.
In the summer of 2009, he participated in a two-month mission trip to Cape Town, South Africa. That trip shaped him in tremendous ways.
Darin is an Assistant Vice-President of Consumer Strategy at Bank of America. He is responsible for researching, developing and communicating strategies that enhance the bank’s engagement with consumer banking clients and small businesses. Darin has a Master of Business Administration with a focus in strategy and corporate finance from the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. He serves as co-president of Cornell’s 2010 alumni class council and is an ordained minister within the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A. Darin is happily married to Crystal Victoria Valentine.
Tearfund's approach to development has helped Darin to deepen his understanding of how Christians should respond to poverty. The typical response is to provide material resources. But when communities are assisted in developing their own sustainable infrastructures, they are better poised to actualize the purposes that God has placed within them.
Darin values Tearfund's ability to collaborate with a diverse set of organizations. He believes that Tearfund is well positioned to develop dynamic partnerships and heighten the well-being of all of God’s creation.