Ruth began making “good trouble” long before her arrival in Santa Barbara in 1970. Raised in Milwaukee WI, she met Eleanor Roosevelt as a child and Dr. King as a young adult and has been committed to social justice and progressive social change. She attended Smith College, participated in her first sit-Ins, and was president of the Friends of SNCC and the National Student Association chapters on her campus. Graduating from the U. of Wisconsin she received her Masters in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley in 1967 and her PhD in Human and Organizational Development from Fielding University.
Prior to her full time career in Santa Barbara as a psychotherapist, Ruth worked in San Francisco and Anchorage AK in child welfare protective services and “deinstitutionalization” in Santa Barbara. She taught at USC, Sacramento State, Antioch and Pacifica and provided clinical supervision at many non-profits.
Ruth has been active in the local nonprofit community starting with CALM in 1970 and has served on the boards of ACLU, United Nations Association, CALM, Centro Familiar, Children's Creative Project, CPA, Santa Barbara Middle School, SBCAN, The Family Therapy Institute, Project Recovery, Healing Opportunities, S.B. County Behavioral Wellness Commission, League of Women Voters, Fertile Hopes among others.
Ruth’s focus beyond Santa Barbara has been with The National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA) whose roots are in the South Bronx NYC at Lincoln Clinic, a community led health initiative providing barrier free treatment on demand to underserved communities. NADA treatment provides stress reduction, detoxification and support for behavioral health using ear acupuncture and acupressure. Ruth has led national and international conferences, trainings and workshops including India, Russia, Hungary and Israel.
This is Ruth’s fourth time serving on the Fund board, and she has been at one time or another a grant recipient, Board President, donor, and grant making committee member.
With two children and two adult grandchildren Ruth’s hobby is traveling to see her family and usually spends election cycles in Cleveland, Ohio working to GOTV