Ruth obtained her BSW and upon graduation began working full time in the area of child welfare. She began studies to obtain her MSW from LSU in a part-time evening program. After about 5 years in Child Welfare, she transitioned to Family Counseling Agency (FCA) and provided individual, group, family, and couple counseling at to people with a wide variety of problems. After over a decade of direct social work practice, she accepted a teaching position at Louisiana College and obtained her Ph.D. in social work from LSU while there. She started teaching at NSU in August 2006. She has held several state and national leadership roles in her professional arena, including chairing the BSW Exam committee for her national licensing exam, and writing items for that exam. Currently she serves on the State of Louisiana Social Work Licensing Board and on the National Committee on Accreditation of the Council on Social work Education (CSWE) the national accrediting body. At NSU, she is the Head of the Social Work Department, which has a nationally accredited BSW program.