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.