Ruby Paz

Strong leader and problem-solver dedicated to the community and environment. Consistently uses independent decision-making skills and sound judgment to positively impact community success, and a compassionate and collaborative leader that believes in empowering cultures and bringing all together to celebrate both differences and common similarities.

The natural world has always been of a great importance and interest to me. Everything about learning about birds to foraging berries to collecting insects and scavenged bones, and pressing flowers and mushroom spores, it is all incredibly comforting to me, and is what I spend the majority of my free time pursuing. I am an adamant bird watcher, up at the earliest hours of the morning in order to hear and watch them. There are also a variety of websites and science journals I follow regarding similar subjects such as the Vulture Conservation Foundation, where I read news regarding Old World vultures and their populations, and where I also track vultures as they traverse throughout Europe and Asia. I also really enjoy hiking (Especially in the canyon near my home), reading, drawing, and listening to music. In addition to that, I also have a potted garden that I have maintained for about 2 years now that consists of onions, tomatoes, and a variety of other plants and herbs that me and my family use in cooking and other homemade remedies and products. I also am a steadfast letter writer, and I thoroughly enjoy writing monthly letters to my little cousins and my friends (even though I see my friends almost everyday) and decorating them with homemade confetti, pressed wax, tea bags, and any little knick-knacks I find that remind me of them. I am also an instrumentalist, and have the ability to play a few different instruments such as the flute, piano, and saxophone (My main instrument is saxophone, and is the instrument I am most skilled in). I also enjoy cooking, and though I am not the greatest yet, I learn more on how to be better every single day. 

Through organizations such as the Rotary Lions and Placer Environmental Club, I have volunteered for many opportunities to help my community and my environment. One such example would be volunteering for my nearby food kitchen, or, for a project we are currently working on, cleaning homes and rehabilitating the community garden of the Acres Of Hope Foundation that deals and nurtures women and children who have been in domestic violence situations. I have also volunteered for a variety of Protect American River Canyon events that include trash pick-ups, animal rehabilitation, and even a trash fashion show put on for their 50th anniversary. I, for several years, also volunteered for my local youth club every week that was hosted in my apartment complex. It was called 'Kids First' and it consisted of helping younger kids with homework, playing with them, teaching them new skills and games, and just getting to know them.