L.K.Monroe is the Principal and Founder of Teamed Up for Good - A Social Purpose Corporation that provides strategies and resources to see communities, supported by their champions, flourish through deep investment in their children.
Teamed Up for Good grows directly from Ms. Monroe’s deep passion for addressing the all too common conditions and persistently poor outcomes that exist in so many communities of color in poverty across our country. While these communities are often rich with tradition and possess considerable talent in their human resources – barriers such as a lack of access to basic needs like healthy food, safety, and educational attainment, as well as the debilitating effects of racism and economic deprivation have created what we know to be a serious and urgent need for change.
Ms. Monroe has partnered with many community champions throughout her career which began before she became a teacher, like her mother and grandmother. The early part of her career was spent managing and leading in several education related nonprofits and governmental agencies.
Most memorable among those early experiences was her time serving as Legislative Intern for the late Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm during her last term in office. As was true for the congresswoman, LK’s commitment to systems change, as well as the mental and physical well-being of all students, driven by an unwavering focus on equity and justice, serves as a guiding force to pursue this critical work.
In 2011, after being a teacher, principal, and leader in the Oakland Unified School District, L.K. transitioned to the Alameda County Office of Education, where she served as Associate Superintendent before successfully running for the office of Alameda County Superintendent of Schools in 2014. She took the oath in January 2015 and served two terms over eight years. She was also privileged to serve as president of the California County Superintendents organization — a post she held throughout the pandemic. During her tenure, she worked in partnership with local, State, and national entities to position the ACOE as a leader and model of social justice in action.
L.K. holds a degree from the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California, a teaching credential from Holy Names University, and her administrative credential from the national New Leaders educational leadership program. She resides in Oakland and has two adult children.
Ruth Jones is Teamed Up for Good’s Chief Operations Strategy Officer (COSO). As COSO she leads the prioritizing, managing, and moving forward of both the strategic and logistic aspects of the company’s mission-aligned work.
Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Ruth’s affinity for working with young people was clear early on when in high school she began serving as a volunteer tutor at neighborhood middle and elementary schools. During her undergraduate studies at Denison University in Granville Ohio, she continued to pursue her passion for working with youth by taking advantage of several work based opportunities, including an internship which took her back to her former high school to support her former Spanish teacher.
Following the path of her oldest brother and the many teachers who influenced and inspired her along the way, in 2011 Ruth became a History and Leadership teacher in the Oakland Unified School District. For the next eight years she would not only teach middle schoolers, but also coach volleyball, serve as co-chair for the History Department, and fill several other teacher-leadership roles at her school site.
During her tenure in the classroom, Ruth explored education policy, eventually becoming a Senior Policy Fellow with the Great Oakland (GO) Teacher Policy Fellowship. This interest grew as she explored the systems, policies, and programs that impacted her own students as well as the broader education community. It was this desire to better understand the connection between education policy and improved student outcomes that led her to pursue her MA in International and Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco 2017.
Following grad school in 2019 and with nearly a decade of experience in working directly with students, Ms. Jones transitioned from the classroom to become a Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE) Public Policy Fellow and received her placement working with the team at the Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE). A year later, she transitioned to a permanent role with ACOE when she was hired as the Policy and Governance Manager and was eventually promoted and served as Director, Office of the Superintendent.
Ruth had the privilege of working closely with L.K. Monroe as she served as the elected Alameda County Superintendent of Schools. At the end of two terms in office, Ms. Monroe transitioned from the role to form Teamed Up for Good - A Social Purpose Corporation. Ms. Jones made the transition as well to become the organization's COSO.
Ruth comes from a large family, including 14 nieces and nephews, all of whom live in Columbus, Ohio. She resides in Oakland with a robust community of friends, mentors, and her cat, Lestat.
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510-878-6914
484 Lake Park Ave #21
Oakland, CA 94610
about Us
Our mission is to support athletes, artists and philanthropists committed to doing good to make responsible and long lasting investments in the communities they care about through education, arts and athletics.
