The following biographical sketch was compiled at the time of induction into the Academy in 2017.

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Catherine Sloss Jones was born in Birmingham, the first daughter of Arthur Page Sloss Jr. and Carolyn Lowrey Sloss. Her great-great-grandfather, Colonel James Withers Sloss, built Sloss Furnaces and is credited with bringing the railroads to Jones Valley, forging Birmingham’s future in iron and steel.

 
Jones is President and CEO of Sloss Real Estate, a family owned firm started by her grandfather. Under her leadership, the company focuses on urban development, revitalization and renewal of the community. Noteworthy projects include the purchase and renovation of an abandoned Dr. Pepper syrup plant, turning a once blighted area into a vibrant mixed-use district widely recognized as the premiere design center in Birmingham. Her company also acted as co-developer of Park Place, Birmingham’s first HOPE VI project, expanding six city blocks of 1960s era obsolete public housing into a twelve-block mixed-use, mixed-income community. Other projects have included One Federal Place, a prominent office building and pocket park, and renovations of the historic Young and Vann Building and old Rust Engineering Building now known as Ridge Park. 

A recognized civic leader, Jones serves on the boards of Lakeshore Foundation, Leadership Birmingham, Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, Lakeview Business Association, Birmingham Museum of Art and the Auburn University Center for Architecture and Urban Studies. She is also a member of the University of Alabama at Birmingham President’s Leadership Cabinet. Jones was an active participant in creating Birmingham’s City Center Master Plan, and chaired the Downtown Redevelopment Authority for over 15 years. She also served on the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Board and was a director of the Birmingham Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. 

An active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), Jones was a member of the Inner-City Council and a faculty member of the Daniel Rose Fellowship working with mayors across the United States. She currently chairs the Alabama ULI chapter. She is on the steering committee for LOCUS, a national organization advocating for sustainable, walkable urban development in America’s metropolitan areas.   

Jones created the not-for-profit Market at Pepper Place in 2000, a nationally recognized, award-winning farmers’ market that supports Alabama small farmers and artisans. The market has successfully incubated many new businesses and attracts up to 10,000 visitors every Saturday morning. In addition, she served on the Farmers’ Market Advisory Board of the Ford Foundation.  

A graduate of The Altamont School, Jones attended Converse College, and graduated from Wofford College in 1975. She pursued graduate studies at Harvard University from 2006 to 2008, first as a Loeb Fellow and then as a visiting scholar at the Graduate School of Design. 

She is the recipient of numerous awards including Birmingham Businesswoman of the Year, Women Who Make A Difference, ULI Atlanta Award for Excellence for her work at Pepper Place, and Executives of Influence, Birmingham’s Most Influential Executives and Top 40 Under 40 All-Stars.

Jones is married to D. Paul Jones Jr. and has one son, Arthur Page Sloss Crenshaw.

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