Michele Jones builds a global advocacy movement for abused women

Michele R. Jones, founder of the Time to Fly Foundation, is expanding support for professional and high-net-worth women who face abuse in silence. Her work spans coaching, faith leadership training, authorship, and global summits aimed at helping women heal and rebuild with purpose.

Why it matters: - Many domestic abuse services are built around shelter-based support that may not fit the needs of professional, executive, and high-net-worth women. - Michele R. Jones is targeting that gap with programs focused on confidential help, education, and long-term recovery. - Her work reaches beyond individual healing to faith communities, leadership circles, and women’s advocacy networks. - The approach addresses a broader misconception: abuse can affect women regardless of education, income, status, or public profile.

What happened: - Michele R. Jones, founder and president of the Time to Fly Foundation, was highlighted for leading a faith-based 501(c)(3) organization that helps working women recover from emotional, verbal, physical, financial, and spiritual abuse. - Jones launched the first Time to Fly class in April 2001 with 12 women. - The effort has since grown to more than 1,500 women and families. - Jones is also a nationally recognized best-selling author, speaker, certified executive coach, and advocate for healthy relationships and women’s empowerment. - Her leadership has drawn recognition from the White House, the Department of Justice, and state leadership. - Jones also served as an appointed Commissioner for Women and Children in a county of more than two million residents.

The details: - Jones said her mission grew out of her own experience in a difficult marriage and an 18-month period of healing and counseling while working in corporate leadership and volunteering at a women’s shelter. - She identified a lack of confidential resources for business and executive women who could not easily leave work or enter traditional shelter settings. - Jones hosted the first podcast in the Washington, D.C., metro area focused on domestic and dating abuse. - She has trained more than 2,500 faith leaders across Hindu, Jewish, Christian, Baha’i, and other traditions. - She has also trained thousands of faith leaders and helped women launch nonprofits and advocacy initiatives. - Jones founded and hosts the global “He Cares” Summit, which brings together women leaders from seven regions of the world to address unhealthy relationship dynamics. - Her book, Your Call to Freedom, has reached readers in more than 17 countries. - Jones’s public message covers abuse in many forms, including verbal, emotional, psychological, sexual, financial, and spiritual abuse. - She says spiritual beliefs and religious doctrine can also be manipulated to exert control.

Between the lines: - Jones is positioning faith leaders as frontline responders because abuse is often hidden behind success, reputation, and community status. - Her strategy reflects a belief that awareness and intervention must happen in places where affected women already are, not only in crisis centers. - Her focus on self-worth, boundaries, and generational change suggests the work is aimed at prevention as much as response. - The emphasis on women finding their “secret sauce” signals a leadership model built around identity and purpose, not just survival. - Jones said her father, a two-star General, helped shape her discipline, perseverance, teamwork, and sacrifice. - She credits mentor Dr. Myles Munroe with telling her to “love people, don’t use people,” a lesson she says shaped her leadership philosophy.

What’s next: - Jones is continuing her work through the Time to Fly Foundation, coaching, books, speaking engagements, and international advocacy. - She plans to keep training faith leaders and expanding conversations about abuse in professional and high-status communities. - Her broader aim is to help women move from pain to purpose and build healthier futures for themselves and the next generation. - Jones said she will continue encouraging women to use education, community, faith, and self-awareness to reclaim their voices and freedom.

The bottom line: - Michele Jones has built a niche but widening movement around a simple idea: abuse does not stop at wealth, education, or public success, and support systems should not either. - More information or the company’s website