Jonas established the American Indian Diabetes Collaborative, which is a partnership between Area Council of Churches, the Department of Indian Work, the American Indian Family Center, and the University of New Mexico Medical School. The collaborative is assisting people with diabetes to manage their disease by offering culturally responsive support groups that encourage self-care and healthy lifestyles. The collaborative is also teaching people with pre-diabetes how to prevent the development of diabetes by conducting lifestyle change and support programs in clinical and community settings.  

As a researcher, he developed the Family Education Diabetes Series (FEDS) for Native  Americans. This is a community-based participatory research project designed as a supplement to standard diabetes care and guided by the principles of the citizen health care model. Participants include patients, families, tribal leaders, and healthcare professionals who met every other week for 21 sessions. Each session includes education, nutrition, cooking, exercise, and weight management components and includes outside speakers on a range of topics, such as physical and emotional aspects of disease management. Activities are community-based, inter-generational, and often planned and led by participants. 

Results so far include that a total of 3000 American Indians have participated in at least one  FEDS session, with over 1,800 adults participating in 50% or more of the 21 bi-weekly sessions hosted. At completion of the program, 90% of the most active participants had metabolic control scores at or below the recommended level. The Youth Diabetes Education facet of FEDS engaged 1,400 participants aged 7-20 at four schools in the local area. Youth participants kept food and activity journals and used dancing games, yoga, and traditional dancing. More than half of the students showed as lower BMI, while 45% reported being more physically active.