[14] Hobson is also chairman of the board of trustees of Ariel Investment Trust and formerly a spokesperson for the annual Ariel/Schwab Black Investor Survey.

[citation needed] Hobson is on the board of many organizations, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

[16] Hobson created and hosted a show on ABC on May 29, 2009, called Unbroke: What You Need to Know About Money, featuring celebrities such as the Jonas Brothers, Oscar the Grouch and Samuel L.

[8] Following the replacement of Laxman Narasimhan as Starbucks CEO on August 13, 2024, it was also announced that Hobson will step down as chair effective September 9, and become lead independent director.

[21][22] In October 2020, Hobson and the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation made the lead gift to establish a residential college at Princeton University.

[23][24] In 2024, Mellody Hobson and her husband George Lucas provided funding for restoration of Girish Kasaravalli's film Ghatashraddha.

[28] Hobson began dating film director and producer George Lucas in 2006, after they met at a business conference in 2005.