Dr. Ruiz is an Associate Professor at Nova Southeastern University where she provides clinical supervision to doctoral trainees in the Healthy Lifestyles Guided Self-Change Program. Prior to that, she was an Assistant Professor for 4 years in the doctoral psychology department at Albizu University. Dr. Ruiz earned her B.A. in Psychology from Florida International University in 2002. Her masters and Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology were awarded by Nova Southeastern University in 2006 and 2009 respectively. She completed her post-doctoral studies at Yale University School of Medicine in the Division of Substance Abuse in 2010.

Prior to joining NSU, Dr. Ruiz served as the Chief Psychologist and Director of Behavioral Health at Goodman Jewish Family Services of Broward. For 4 years, Dr. Ruiz secured and managed over $1.4 million dollars in community grant funding to expand behavioral health services at Goodman JFS. Her research interests include the prevention, assessment and treatment of addictive behaviors and the use of motivational strategies to help individuals meet their desired treatment goals. Her professional activities earned her the American Psychological Association’s Society of Clinical Psychology (Division 12) Distinguished Student Practice Award in 2008. She has been an invited/guest lecturer on 46 occasions