Liliana Ruiz

Work closely with organizational leadership to design, implement, and supervise a low-barrier transitional shelter in Boston, serving guests who were relocated from Mass and Cass encampments. Dedicated to offering individualized, respectful, and harm reduction-oriented support to guests who are actively using drugs and experiencing street homelessness.

• Use harm-reduction and trauma-informed approach in all aspects of shelter's work, making sure that guests feel respected, safe, and supported, even when guests have very complex needs.
• Implement crisis management procedures that promote physical and emotional safety for everyone.
• Build and maintain relationships with local professionals, experts, and partners to support shelter's operations and guests.

Lead the Homeless Bureau's initiatives to enhance income and benefits while fostering the development of marketable job skills for individuals facing homelessness, with the ultimate goal of facilitating competitive employment and supporting their transition to and sustained success in permanent housing.

• Oversee the Serving Ourselves Program (SOS) by leading a team of coordinators, case managers, and work supervisors to equip over 150 participants to transition out of supported employment to community and permanent employment.
• Supervise hiring and training of SOS program participants establishing policies, personnel practices and related curriculum increasing the number of participants by 16% last year.
• Work collaboratively and closely coordinate with shelter operation staff and shelter kitchen to ensure that the SOS program is meeting the Bureau's operational janitorial and kitchen needs.
• Forge relationships with area employers and workforce development partners, using excellent interpersonal and bilingual communication skills to increase the number of job placements by over 450%.
• Institute data collection standards to ensure integrity of collected information and required data collection compliance.
• Part of HSB's Racial Equity Champion Task Force whose aim is to develop Racial Equity Action Plan that will help identify and solidify inequities and objectives to reduce such inequities.

Vital member of the leadership team recruited to conceptualize, implement, and manage a low-threshold transitional shelter in Boston, with a specific focus on the Mass and Cass area.

• Dedicated to delivering individualized, dignified, and harm reduction-centered assistance to women actively engaged in drug use and enduring street homelessness.
• Applied harm-reduction and trauma-informed lens through all the work of the shelter.
• Ensured that women felt welcomed, safe, and cared for, even when presented with extremely complex needs.
• Joined street outreach efforts to build trust and encourage women to leave the street and enter shelter.
• Assisted designing the city's client attendance tracker providing weekly and monthly reporting to leadership team and the mayor's office.
• Enacted crisis management protocols that reinforced physical and emotional safety for all.
• Developed and fostered connections with local practitioners, experts, and partners in support of shelter operations and guests which resulted in 68% of guests receiving medical and primary care, 77% were engaged in SUD treatment, and 61% started on medications for opioid use disorder.

Instrumental member of the management team that played a pivotal role in establishing a Temporary Emergency Shelter, devising and executing operational and functional systems to support homeless individuals amidst the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Provided leadership and streamlined daily operations of 84-bed emergency shelter, serving COVID-19 negative homeless individuals with history of active substance use.
• Identified plans and resources required to meet project goals and objectives.
• Facilitated, organized, and assisted day-to-day operations, strategic planning, and delivery of services to the emergency shelter, transitional housing, and rapid rehousing programs.
• Used coordination and planning skills to achieve results according to schedule.
• Directly supervised team of 20+ shelter staff, case managers, social workers, and clinical staff; maintaining weekly schedules and filling shifts as needed; working with case managers and social workers to implement Developmental Programming for guests in the building.

Accountable for the efficient management of the school, overseeing the general administration of all educational, operational, and financial aspects of the institution.

• Achieved consistent annual enrollment growth of 3-5% while managing a budget of $2.3 million.
• Led development of educational program while fostering a positive culture of engagement for learners.
• Administered and supervised school and employees, while remaining a strong advocate for the school's core values.
• Developed financial reports and dashboards for forecasting, trending, and results analysis.
• Implemented new sales strategy and commission-based remuneration was added increasing sales by 5% each year.
• Analyzed international market trends to remain competitive and provide top service building diverse student population by retaining over 49 nationalities every year.
• Traveled to promote and present at international student and agency fairs increasing school visibility and name recognition.

In charge of comprehensive property management, encompassing marketing, web design, and social media operations.

• Achieved sustained annual sales growth through strategic initiatives and effective management.
• Coordinated, directed, and managed staff and everyday property operations to achieve profitability, guest satisfaction and efficiency.
• Assessed supplier quality to maintain tight cost controls and maximize business operational performance reducing costs by 25%.
• Prepared annual plans, budgets, operations forecasts, and kept necessary records and files.
• Counseled and instructed staff in proper performance of their duties, preparing, and coordinating periodic performance reviews.
• Designed and launched new website and marketing materials using Adobe Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash that resulted in increased sales of over $150K.

Tasked with evaluating student preferences to aid the Boston School of English in shaping, promoting, and marketing their courses and services effectively.

• Reported directly to the Managing Director, worked on creating long term IT vision for improved management of time and cost.
• Researched, evaluated, and revamped information technology management needs and problems related to systems hardware and software, including applicable client applications and database management.
• Managed multiple departments providing installation, configuration, on-site technical support, and network management.
• Reduced manual processes by 30% with resultant reductions in overhead costs.
• Steered software change project to replace Microsoft Access database with THEBING, a comprehensive language school management software.