After graduating in 1976, at a time in our nation’s history when Black women typically did not have many opportunities, LaRue went on to attend Salisbury State College, from which she earned a Master’s in Education. From there, the opportunities multiplied. LaRue became the head women’s basketball coach at Morgan State University in Baltimore, earning a national “Coach of the Year” award after the 1980-81 season. Later, she became the University of Minnesota’s first black female head coach.
Prior to coming to San Diego, LaRue was the first African-American Female Head Coach at the University of Minnesota as well as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach and Health/Physical Education Instructor at Morgan State University. While in Minnesota, LaRue also worked for the Minneapolis YWCA, the Minneapolis Urban
League and the Minneapolis NAACP as part of their senior management teams.
LaRue Fields currently resides in San Diego, California and recently retired in 2019. LaRue is the daughter of the late Norman and Gertrude Fields and has three siblings—two sisters who also live in California and a brother who lives in South Carolina.
As LaRue reflects back on her career, she realizes that pretty much every job she’s ever had “wasn’t just a job... it was a movement.” She says, “Being a Black woman coach at a time when they didn’t have them...that was a movement. Working at non-profits to help LGBT older adults...that’s a movement.” LaRue transitioned to retirement in 2019, but she is not planning to stop helping others, particularly those who “have no voice”, anytime soon. Even in retirement, LaRue has continued to serve on the Aging & Independence Services (AIS) Advisory Council, something she has done for over five years. The AIS Advisory Council looks at ways to strengthen the aging support network and operations. It serves as the voice of consumers and community experts to maximize the delivery of AIS services. She continues to feel a sense of purpose and believes the Council is “getting recognition as a group that is doing good things.” According to LaRue, serving older adults and working to increase their quality of life and visibility in the community is also an important movement.
