JAN Board Member Feature: Azia Cimone
Azia Cimone, JAN Ward 7 representative and member of the JAN Board of Directors.
Azia Cimone has made downtown Jackson home for years, showing up for the City With Soul and organizing spaces long before she ever imagined a formal leadership role. That steady presence and commitment to place have now led her to the board of the Jackson Association of Neighborhoods, where she will help guide the organization’s work to strengthen neighborhoods across the city.
Professionally, Cimone is the founder of BRAINchild Media, a strategic consultancy focused on aligning organizing with storytelling and strategy to support community-centered work. Her work has spanned from journalism to grassroots organizing, and extends to the position of Action & Advocacy co-chair for Change Collective in Jackson, giving her a broad perspective on how information and relationships can drive meaningful change at the neighborhood level. She is also a member of Rotary Club of the Jackson Medical Mall.
Before launching her firm, Cimone spent several years with the Mississippi Free Press, where she helped shape the publication’s editorial voice and ultimately served as Voices editor. That work, paired with her past experience as a regional organizer for Working Together Mississippi and her current work as the Program Manager for Jackson Youth Newsroom, deepened her understanding of how communities succeed when residents are informed, connected and empowered to act together.
Her connection to JAN developed organically through collaboration with local organizers and institutions focused on community development. As a downtown resident, Cimone had already begun efforts to reactivate neighborhood organizing in the area when she learned there was an open seat on the JAN board. Encouraged by colleagues who recognized the alignment between her work and JAN’s mission, she stepped forward.
“I believe if we are serious about revitalizing Jackson, especially downtown, the people who live and work here have to be part of the process,” Cimone said.
On the board, Cimone is particularly interested in helping JAN strengthen collaboration across neighborhoods and develop models that can be shared and adapted citywide. She sees JAN as a critical connector, one that can help neighborhoods learn from one another, and build long-term sustainability rooted in local ownership and participation.
She also brings a generational perspective to the board, which includes longtime neighborhood leaders alongside newer voices. Cimone views that mix as an asset, creating space for institutional knowledge and fresh ideas to inform one another.
Looking ahead, she hopes to help JAN continue building a self-sustaining future supported by community buy-in and local investment. For Cimone, neighborhood revitalization begins with trust, relationships and giving residents the tools to help their neighborhoods succeed.
“Nobody knows a neighborhood better than the people who live there,” she said. “My goal is to help make sure they have the tools, relationships and confidence to lead.”
As Jackson continues to navigate growth and change, Cimone’s addition to the JAN board reflects the organization’s ongoing commitment to strong, connected neighborhoods and the belief that lasting progress begins at the local level.
