Dreamkeeper™ Spotlight: Ruth Jurgensen

The month of March brings fresh energy, awakening, and a moment to honor the women in our orbit making fierce impacts in their communities. In this Dreamkeeper Spotlight, we have the privilege of doing just that with Ruth Jurgensen, Executive Director of the NBA Foundation. Ruth embodies courage, authenticity, and bold purpose; showing us how hard work, vision, and an audacious approach to life can align us with our higher calling. She invites us into her world of nurturing young people’s future, making their dreams visible, valid, and achievable. Ruth demonstrates what it means to honor ourselves in every space we occupy, to trust the journey as it unfolds, and to recognize when it’s time to release outgrown opportunities; making room to rest, reset, and embrace new possibilities. Her work is a powerful reminder to trust the process, trust yourself, and trust your unique gifts. We celebrate the legacy Ruth has built, pouring into and amplifying the dreams of the next generation, nationwide.

“None of this has been easy. No job I’ve had has been easy. But I’ve learned the importance of giving yourself space—like letting wine breathe, or tending a fire that needs air. We are part of the natural world, and we need that same care. Time to breathe, to reset, to keep your fire going. And if you can do that consistently, opportunities will find their way to you."

RUTH JURGENSEN IN CONVERSATION

Q: What is your wildest, most unconventional dream for yourself?

I’m truly living my dream and I love it. My dream was to focus my time and attention; and use my career and experience, to center my work around sports. While I don’t focus on sports directly, I work for a global league with incredible reach; one that is imaginative and innovative, and I’m really proud to work for the NBA.

It’s a truly innovative place to be, and the foundation, as a startup, is very entrepreneurial in spirit. We have a terrific team of people who think along the same lines. We’re constantly asking: ‘What more can we do to impact young people in under-resourced communities?’

We think about how we can work with every team and every market, not just through grantmaking, but beyond that. How can we ideate, collaborate, and create together? It’s an incredibly inspired group.

That’s the dream for me; spending my time imagining what’s possible, creating opportunities, and impacting young people. Thinking about how we build programming that truly resonates with them; something authentic and meaningful. That’s a powerful and fulfilling way to spend your professional life.

“Adversity is what carries you through as a leader. You have to go through it in order to truly be tested. To a young person, to any person, I would say this: it’s been in you the whole time.”

Q: How have you navigated the transitions in your career from education to your current role as Executive Director?

I started my career in education as a high school English teacher, and I used to tell my students, ‘literature is equipment for living. You don’t have to experience everything in life to understand it, so much of it is already written down. Every experience, everything you can imagine, exists in language. And if it isn’t written, you can write it. You can use the power of language to create tools for living.’

When I became a high school principal, that idea stayed with me. The job was to imagine what was possible for every single student I worked with. And I led with love, I truly did. I felt such a deep sense of excitement for my students, like, ‘you have everything ahead of you; how can I help you get there?’

I was a young principal, so I brought a lot of optimism and enthusiasm to the role. And I think even then, I had an entrepreneurial mindset. If a student had an idea, I’d think, ‘well, who’s in charge here? Oh, me. Let’s go for it. Let’s make it happen.’ And that’s still how I operate today. If something inspires you, I want to help you pursue it and do what I can to support you in reaching that goal.

From being a teacher, to a school leader, to leading an educational nonprofit, the scale changed, but the core idea didn’t. At the nonprofit level, I was thinking about how to support over a thousand students across different schools and cities. It wasn’t as personal, but I would still ask myself, ‘if I were this age, what would I need? What would I want?’ And then I’d build programming around that, fundraise for it, and bring it to life.

You just find different ways to do the same thing.

Q: What advice would you give to someone who feels like they don’t fit the traditional mold of success?

Well, I think success has to be personally defined. In my previous role I served as CEO of a nonprofit organization focused on educational access and leadership development.

During my time there, my focus was redefining what success means, because I felt our understanding of it was too narrow. Young people, in particular, are dynamic thinkers. They have access to all kinds of information and can see so many different trajectories. Whether they’re in a big city or a small town, they can witness a range of possibilities – especially now, when so much is accessible right from your phone, if you choose to use it that way.

So I think for someone on the outside to define success for someone else is really misguided. Success has to be defined by you. Of course, it can be informed by your community; your peers, your family, your mentors, your teachers, your coaches; the people who really mean something to you. And I think seeing examples of people who feel successful, no matter what they’re doing, is also critically important. But it’s not for me to say what success should look like or be like.

At the end of the day, success should be self-defined. It’s about how you feel, what your goals truly are, how you want to make an impact; whether that’s taking care of others, creating something new, or carving your own path.

“Sometimes, the things that matter most need to be protected. Not everyone is rooting for you, and that’s something to be mindful of.”

Q: What advice would you give to a young person who feels torn between the path that their family wants them to follow, and the path that they feel passionate about?

I think you can do both. It’s not either/or; it’s both. You want to keep your passion, your fire, burning, while also exploring ways to learn more and create opportunities. Ideally, you’re on a trajectory that fulfills your passion, but it’s okay if that’s not the whole picture right away.

I know so many people who are doing two things at the same time. One is truly fulfilling their dreams; their emotional vessel, if you will. Alongside that, they have a professional lane where they’ve been identified as being really good at something. That’s what they build their career on, make a name for themselves, create a legacy, and provide for themselves and their families.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t also pursue what lights you up. You can still nurture that fire within you, that passion. I really believe you can do both.

Q: When’s the last time someone made you truly feel seen in your work or in your journey?

I’ve had the good fortune of feeling seen, and I think part of that comes from the visibility of the position. But in most roles, that idea of bringing your full self to work; I haven’t really done that.

As a Black woman, maybe part of it is imposter syndrome, or learning in real time; like building a plane while flying it. When I was a high school teacher, I spent entire weekends preparing for Monday. I didn’t really know how to do it at first. As a principal, it was the same. I learned by doing. I didn’t know how to lead on day one, and probably not even by day 300. But you still have to show up, do the job, and lead.

That’s true in this role as well. I didn’t know everything on day one, and you just have to keep going, stay humble, ask questions, and if you get something wrong, you own it.

I remember during a professional development session at the NBA, something really stayed with me. It was about leadership at this level: ‘You’re accountable for everything and responsible for nothing.’ At this level of visibility, it’s really about accountability, and that comes after many years of growth and experience.

I do feel more seen in this role than I have in others. In the past, I was more protective, especially of my son. I wouldn’t bring him into my work world. But now, if he asks to come, I say yes with some conditions.

Bringing him into this space means introducing him to the most important part of my life, and to an environment that is truly special. The NBA is an incredibly authentic and inspiring community, and I want him to experience that and connect with my colleagues.

Q. Who would you say in your life challenges you to dream differently?

Well, probably my son, he asks really thoughtful questions. Young people today don’t follow that same static trajectory we were all on; you know, the idea of high school, then college, then work. I know that’s a sweeping statement, but it doesn’t quite make sense anymore.

Especially when you have a child growing up in a global city, who’s traveled, who sees so many different experiences; even just on the subway. Living in New York, in particular, gives you so much perspective. So yes, I would say he definitely pushes me to think differently. He’s certainly someone who challenges and inspires me in that way.

Q. What’s your dream anthem; the song that fuels your ambition?

I love “Good Times.” That was actually the last song I walked out to during our All-Star pitch competition.

Q. If your dream was a movie, what would be the title?

I’ve said this to my son before. Not all the time, but as a reminder. I tell him, ‘we’re on a planet in space’. Like, the most amazing thing has already happened to you. So just… enjoy life.

He kind of looks at me when I say it—but for me, it’s grounding. Maybe that’s the title of my movie, ‘We’re on a Planet in Space’. I really do come back to that idea often. Think about it; we’re on a planet, in space. It’s kind of insane.

BACK TO BLOG LIST