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Ru was raised along the beaches and backwater of Florida’s gulf coast, with summers spent as one of the token kids hanging around biological stations throughout Minnesota and Michigan. She studied Biology at New College of Florida, with a focus on neuroethology and scientific illustration, and went on to pursue field work running the gamut from tracking wolves in northern Minnesota to tagging endangered birds in the Everglades and Florida Keys. Ru’s career has focused on an interdisciplinary approach to conservation, including education and outreach, illustration and graphic design, and creative development and strategic planning efforts for a number of successful projects, startups and nonprofits. She currently serves as Executive Director of Stokes Nature Center, a nonprofit environmental education and citizen science organization in northern Utah. She also serves on production teams for international environmental media events, including the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival and Conservation Summit, the Science Media Awards and Symposium, and the BLUE Ocean Film Festival and Conservation Summit. And finally, Ru is the Strategic Partnerships Coordinator for Celine Cousteau’s CauseCentric Productions.