Jolanda Jones

Jolanda Felicia Jones^[1] is a contestant from Survivor: Palau.

After winning the Race to Shore to ensure her safety from the Schoolyard Pick, Jolanda became the founder of the Ulong tribe though her strong personality was questioned by her tribemates. At the first immunity challenge, she made the mistake of insisting on taking several crates, slowing the team down and contributing to their loss. As a result, she became the first person voted out of Palau and the first casualty of the ill-fated tribe.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com

Jolanda "Jo" Jones attended Alief Elsik High School in Houston, Texas, where she graduated magna cum laude and was an All-American in both track and field and basketball. She is the only person to win the Texas State 5A Team Championship as an individual. After high school, Jones went on to graduate magna cum laude with a degree in political science from the University of Houston. She served on numerous university and community boards and organizations and was a member of the student government. Jones was nominated by the university for a Rhodes scholarship and received the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. In 1995, Jones earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston Law Center. She is currently self-employed as a lawyer/consultant/community activist.

Jones was the 1989 US Track and Field Heptathlon Champion and earned an unprecedented three NCAA heptathlon championships. She was the runner-up for SWC Female Athlete of the Decade for the 80s, two-time Academic All-American while at the University of Houston and a 1989 NCAA Top Six Award winner.

An abusive relationship forced Jones to retire from track and field for seven years. Despite the odds, she resumed training while working part-time as a corporate lawyer. Within three months, she had qualified for the 1996 US Olympic Trials. Unfortunately, her 19 year-old brother was murdered two weeks before she was to compete. His death and her meager five months of training proved too much to overcome (although she did win the high jump portion of the heptathlon and was in sixth place after three events). After competing in three events, she became severely dehydrated and was forced to withdraw.

Such accomplishments have earned Jones a spot in the Cougar Hall of Fame at the University of Houston Athletic/Alumni Center. She was inducted into the GTE (Verizon) Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 1999. She was inducted into the Texas Black Hall of Fame in 2003.

Jones largely credits her success to her tumultuous childhood. When she was 13 months old, her father committed suicide while she was in the room. Her mother had four more children, and Jones became their primary caretaker while their mother worked. There were times when the family went without water, electricity or heat. When Jones was a teenager, their rented house burned down due to the use of candles in place of electricity. Two of her uncles committed suicide, her aunt was murdered and various members of her family are in prison and on welfare. Jones credits her criticizing mother and supportive grandmother for teaching her to be the best and stand up for the poor and disenfranchised.

Jones' niece died of SIDS in 2000. Consequently, she sits on the board of the 501c(3) named after her niece, the U'jana Conley Foundation for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. She also sits on the board of the Land Assemblage Redevelopment Authority for the City of Houston.

Jones currently resides in Houston, with her son, Jiovanni (13). Her birth date is November 6, 1965.^[2]

Survivor[]

Right off the bat, Jolanda became somewhat of a target in the game when she was the first female castaway to reach the beach and claim immunity. Due to winning the first individual Immunity Challenge, she and Ian Rosenberger became the tribal captains, and began the Schoolyard Pick on Day 2, where Jolanda eventually became the captain of the blue Ulong tribe. After the selection process, Ulong seemed to have a significant advantage over the brown Koror tribe as most of its tribe members were younger than 35, with Jolanda being the oldest.

At the first tribal Immunity Challenge, Jolanda insisted that the tribe take more of the supplies offered, slowing them down. This caused Koror to surge ahead and win immunity.

Coming back to camp with no supplies, many of the Ulong members were unsure of where to place their votes. While fellow tribemate Stephenie LaGrossa rallied to vote out Jolanda for her strong personality, the men wanted to keep her for her physical strength. Meanwhile, Jolanda campaigned for the elimination of Angie Jakusz, who was shunned for her odd mannerisms, and for being the perceived weak link of the tribe. At Tribal Council, Jolanda's overbearing demeanor came back to haunt her, and she was the first to be voted out from Ulong in a 6-3 vote, becoming the first victim of the infamous Ulonging.

Episode	Tribe Affiliation	Challenge	Challenge Type	Sit-Out?	Result
1	None	Race to Shore	Immunity		Won
1	Ulong	Supply Dump	Reward/Immunity	No	Lost
Voted Out, Day 3

Episode	Jolanda's Votes	Voted Against Jolanda
1	Angie	Angie, Ashlee, James, Jeff, Kim, Stephenie
Voted Out, Day 3

Post-Survivor[]

On January 9, 2010, Jolanda attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party.^[3]
In March 2016, Jolanda appeared as one of the Houston-based attorneys on the WEtv Network's reality series Sisters In Law.^[4]

As of 2022, Jolanda Jones is a member of the Texas House of Representatives, representing Harris County.

Political career[]

Jolanda served in the Houston City Council from 2008-2011.
In May 2022, Jolanda, a Democrat, won the special election to replace outgoing representative Garnett Coleman in the Texas House of Representatives. She represents District 147.

Trivia[]

Jolanda is the first female LGBT African-American castaway. She would be followed by Missy Byrd, Chanelle Howell, Claire Rafson, Sabiyah Broderick and Katurah Topps.
- She is the first LGBT person of color to compete.
Jolanda was the oldest member of the Ulong tribe.
In Palau, Jolanda was the only member of Ulong and the only woman to win an individual Immunity Challenge.
- Ibrehem Rahman of Ulong also possessed individual immunity, but it was granted to him by a vote.
Jolanda is one of nine African-American women to win individual immunity.
- The others are Vecepia Towery, Tasha Fox, Cydney Gillon, Desi Williams, Laurel Johnson, Lauren Beck, Missy Byrd and Lauren Harpe.
- Unlike the other eight, Jolanda's immunity did not make her safe at Tribal Council.
Jolanda is the first contestant to be voted out first, but not be eliminated first.
- She was followed by Nina Acosta in One World, Laura Boneham in Blood vs. Water, Jessica Peet in David vs. Goliath, Natalie Anderson in Winners at War, Zach Wurtenberger in Survivor 42, Maddy Pomilla in Survivor 44 and Brandon Donlon in Survivor 45.
Jolanda is the lowest-ranking castaway to possess individual immunity.
Jolanda is the first contestant to win individual immunity and be voted out at the next Tribal Council. She was followed by Erik Reichenbach and Brandon Hantz.
- Jolanda, Erik, Jim Rice, Brandon, and Andrea Boehlke are the only contestants to win individual immunity and be voted out in the same episode, excluding season finales.
  - Including season finales, Rafe Judkins, Yau-Man Chan (in Fiji), Brett Clouser, Ashley Underwood, Ozzy Lusth (in South Pacific), Kass McQuillen (in Cagayan), Keith Nale (in San Juan del Sur), Kelley Wentworth (in Cambodia), and David Wright (in Millennials vs. Gen X) were also voted out in the same episode that they won immunity.
Jolanda is the first contestant to win at least one individual challenge but never win a tribal challenge. She remains the only person to do so without the aid of Redemption Island.
Because of the expanded cast in Palau, Jolanda is the first castaway to place 18th in a season without being the first person eliminated.