Johnathan Monroe served as the director of the Office of Communications. Monroe is primarily responsible for developing and managing external and internal communications about ACF activities, actions, and programs and serves as principal advisor to senior staff on a range of communications, messaging, and public affairs issues.
Before coming to ACF, Monroe was the chief spokesperson and issues manager for the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) where he led communications strategies for FNS’s work to end hunger and obesity through the administration of 15 federal nutrition assistance programs including WIC, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps), and the National School Lunch Program. He also served a year as the Southeast Regional communications director for FNS in the Atlanta regional office where he created and formed unique partnerships around hunger, poverty, and nutrition with non-profit organizations, faith-based entities, state communications offices, and congressional delegations in eight southern states.
Prior to his work at FNS, he has held several communications positions in the federal government. To name a few, he was the deputy of internal communications at the Naval Sea Systems Command where he was awarded the Thompson-Ravitz Award for Excellence for his development of the “Never Forget” communications initiative that helped NAVSEA employees heal from the tragic events of the 2014 Navy Yard shootings. He has also supported the US-Japan Alliance as the chief of media relations for the U.S. Air Force in Okinawa, Japan; special outreach assistant to the executive director for the congressionally mandated Brown vs. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Commission; and a press liaison for the Air Mobility Command where he earned the Air Force Public Affairs “Outstanding Civilian of the Year” award for his communications leadership following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Monroe’s professional specializations include multicultural communication, media engagement, faith-based and social services partnership building, and the role of strategic communications in poverty reduction. He received his B.S. in Mass Communications from Oral Roberts University, his M.A. in Media Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and received his law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law where he wrote a treatise and training program on cross-cultural communications for legal and social advocacy practitioners.