Jo Rutkiewicz

Jo joined GreenLight Fund in August 2023 with experience at different levels of education from the classroom, to transportation operations, to conducting research.

After finishing a bachelor’s degree in English at the University of Minnesota, Jo went to Denver, CO with Teach For America as a middle school special education teacher. This reinforced a deep belief that everyone can learn and be successful, however, inequities are rooted in the systems we participate in daily.

Jo returned to the University of Minnesota to earn a Master’s of Public Policy at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs after his teaching tenure. He researched early childhood education policy, specifically investigating the effects of collaborative leadership structures on equitable education. This experience emphasized the intersectionality many systems have on individuals’ success and development, as well as the complexity that is inherent to education policy.

The different experiences led Jo to pursue work that understands the needs of communities and working collaboratively to create meaningful change. That meaningful change is most effective when it comes from the individuals who make up the community.