Monson defeated incumbent Kirk Humphreys, a former Oklahoma City mayor, for the school board chairman's position in 2009, serving until 2013.
[3] Monson attended her first year at the University of Oklahoma (OU) on a President's Leadership Class scholarship.
After a year in Shawnee, Monson returned to Oklahoma City, where she worked with the Council for Resocialization of Ex-Offenders (CREO), a community corrections organization.
In office, Monson sponsored many health care bills and was largely involved with the Oklahoma Healthcare Authority.
[2] From 2002–2003, she was the president of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), the first African-American woman to lead this organization.
She was the primary sponsor of a large portion of the legislation dealing with health care coverage in Oklahoma.