LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – Recording Academy Co-President Valeisha Butterfield Jones has announced she’s leaving her post to return to Google, where she will take on the new role of Vice President (VP). Her resignation from the academy is effective September 9, and she will rejoin Google in October as VP, Partnerships – Diversity Team.
Butterfield Jones left Google in 2020 (where she served as Global Head of Inclusion) to become the Academy’s Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) and was elevated to Co-President alongside Panos Panay a year later by CEO Harvey Mason, Jr. She oversaw the organization’s people and culture, memberships, awards, and related initiatives.
The Academy will continue to be led by Mason as CEO and Panay as president; Senior management previously reporting to Butterfield Jones will now report to Mason.
“This is a bittersweet moment for our Recording Academy family,” Mason said in a statement. “We are all heartbroken that Valeisha is leaving us but also so thankful for and proud of the incredible work she has done with us over the past two years. She has been the perfect partner and someone I feel truly lucky to have worked so closely with.”
Butterfield Jones oversaw several initiatives, including the Black Music Collective (BMC), the Recording Academy Honors, Women in the Mix Study, and the Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) Love Tour. Following her departure from the Recording Academy, Butterfield Jones will continue to serve the organization, being appointed an honorary co-chair of the Black Music Collective. Her continued involvement with the Academy will be announced in the coming months.
Butterfield Jones commented, “When I came to the Recording Academy over two years ago, I had a clear mission: to make the Recording Academy the most inclusive company in music and the world. Diversity, equity, and inclusion aren’t just buzzwords, and as an organization, we were committed to doing the work both publicly and privately to drive real and meaningful change. It has been one of the greatest honors of my career to serve this bold, new Recording Academy, and my service to our mission will continue in new and even more impactful ways.”
She will report to CDO Melonie Parker in her new role with Google.
