Monique Baptiste, Chief Program Officer

Portrait of Monique Baptiste, Chief Program Officer at STRIVE

With a background in urban policy and economics, Monique Baptiste has worked in the field of workforce development for over two decades. Most recently, Monique joined JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2019 to lead workforce and education for Global Philanthropy and went on to lead corporate talent diversity strategies firmwide. In March 2019, Monique helped launch the firm’s $350 million global investment in education and workforce training systems to promote economic opportunity and reduce labor market inequality. This includes leading JPMC’s nationwide investment in summer youth employment, career technical education for high school, community colleges and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Monique also worked collaboratively with JPMC Human Resources to build new employee learning partnerships to respond to the Future of Work and designed and launched JPMC’s award-winning Second Chance hiring initiative for individuals with criminal backgrounds. These partnerships led to Monique taking on a leadership role to support diverse talent strategies within HR for global teams throughout the firm. 

Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase, Monique served as both VP of Programs and Director of the Greater Newark Workforce Funders Collaborative at the Newark Alliance, where she was responsible for connecting private philanthropy to innovative workforce development initiatives targeting low-income workers. Monique also served as a senior executive at several prominent community-based workforce and economic development organizations, including one of the largest workforce readiness and training organizations in New Jersey, serving more than 500 low-income residents annually and launching a nationally affiliated YouthBuild program connecting opportunity youth to careers in construction. 

Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Monique is a Rutgers University alumnus, where she studied economics and political science as an undergraduate and master's level public policy at the Edward J. Bloustein School. Monique is married, raising four school-aged children (ages 5 to 16) with her husband Gregory. Monique enjoys learning new things, spending time in nature and doing DIY projects in her home workshop.