Ruth Ramirez joined The Miami Foundation to lead it’s 24-hour giving day, Give Miami Day, and spearhead collaborative philanthropy for the Foundation’s collective impact initiatives creating community wide generosity and investment in Greater Miami’s nonprofit sector. In the last decade, Ruth has worked in the Miami community to advance programs that advocate for social justice issues in education and child welfare. Before joining The Miami Foundation, Ruth served as the Director of Development for KIPP Miami, where she was a founding team member, helping launch KIPP’s newest region in South Florida. Ruth developed partnerships with Miami’s generous community of passionate education reform and educational equity supporters committed to providing outstanding academics to elementary and secondary grade students across Greater Miami’s Urban Core communities.

Ruth also served as Major Gifts Officer at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. She spearheaded the Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute’s launch and developed the Grateful Patient program, an affinity group of patients who support Sylvester’s cutting-edge cancer research. While serving at CHARLEE of Dade County as Manager of donor Relations, Ruth developed a comprehensive annual giving campaign, creating sustainable generosity for the foster care agency’s youth mentorship programs and summer camp in North Carolina.

Ruth serves her community as a child welfare advocate forging paths to resources for abused and neglected children. By sharing her personal story as a child who lived in foster care, Ruth elevates the “foster child’s” voice to create policy change and empower Miami’s most vulnerable. Ruth serves as a Board Member of South Florida’s CBC Alliance, is a former Trustee of Our Kids of Miami-Dade & Monroe, and is a Founding Member of Fostering Panther Pride at  Florida International University. She is also a member of The Miami Foundation Miami Fellows Class XI.

Ruth holds an MBA and a BS in Physiology from Florida International University. In 2015, Ruth received FIU’s “Worlds Ahead Graduate” commendation for her community service and educational achievements. She resides in Coral Gables with her husband and her 18-year old Australian Cattle Dog mix pup, Chiki.