Ruth was born in New Jersey but moved with her family to Columbia in 1976. The youngest of four children, she spent much of her childhood exploring the area and watching Columbia develop from a small town into a unique “city”.  Ruth is a proud graduate of HCPSS and is honored to have been both a student at Howard Community College, studying early childhood, as well as being welcomed as an adjunct facility member, sharing her passion and expertise of working with young children. She continues to enjoy the Howard County area and is married with three children and two awesome young grandchildren. 

After 25 years of service, Ruth recently retired from directing and teaching for 25 years at The Young School in Columbia at Kendall Ridge. Through her years of working with children, Ruth has enjoyed growing the connections between teachers and children and partnering with their families to make those student-teacher bonds even stronger! She understands the importance of helping children learn the value of kindness and compassion for one another and the significance in helping them find their voices. Ruth’s greatest joy is connecting lessons through stories, experiences and storytelling. 

Currently, she is enjoying being an active grandmother, “GiGi”, as she cares for her almost toddling grandson! Ruth is eager to share her experiences with young children as she partners with Kindness Grows Here. 

In her spare time, Ruth has a genuine love for photography and nature and enjoys bringing the life of nature to children. She believes a simple walk in the park can turn into a fun learning experience, especially teaching children to be kind, caring, and compassionate to their environment and the living world. Ruth is excited to bring her skill of photography to events with Kindness Grows Here.