Associate Professor

Office Location

Educational & Literacy Leadership
West Campus West Building W3E308
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Dr. Ruby is a dentist-turned-educator who was the North Branford Public Schools 2000 Teacher of the Year and a state Teacher of the Year semifinalist. She has worked at the elementary, middle and secondary levels as a classroom teacher and reading consultant. She holds Connecticut certifications in elementary education, special education, remedial reading, literacy consultancy and leadership through the superintendency. Upon receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut in special education with a focus on literacy, she took on the role of program coordinator of the graduate reading program at Eastern Connecticut State University’s Department of Education for the 102 and 097 reading certifications.

While at ECSU, she was coprincipal investigator for a $3.9 million federal Early Reading First grant, Community Partners for Early Literacy (CEPL). Inspiring Lessons is a 30-minute video that shares some of the important lessons learned during the CEPL project.

Upon her return to K–12 education, Dr. Ruby served in the New London Public Schools as supervisor of professional learning and staff development and in the Norwalk Public Schools as literacy supervisor and interim director of pupil services and special education. Most recently, she was assistant superintendent of the Brookfield Public Schools, where her leadership responsibilities include curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional learning, grant management and human resources. Her leadership has been recognized by both Sacred Heart University, where she was the Farrington College of Education Alumni Outstanding Administrator for 2018, and the University of Connecticut, where she was the Neag School of Education Outstanding Administrator for 2019

As a grant writer, Dr. Ruby has served as author and principal investigator or coprincipal investigator on grants totaling $5,561,808 and grant consultant on grants totaling $3,277,488. In addition to her work in Brookfield, she was an adjunct professor at Sacred Heart University in educational leadership and at Fairfield University in the graduate program in reading. Previously, she did adjunct and consulting work at the University of Connecticut, Southern, Central and Western Connecticut State Universities as well as for state departments of education and school districts around the United States. Her work has focused on reading, special education, English learners, assessment, curriculum and social-emotional learning.

Dr. Ruby recently completed a two-year Ashoka-Changemaker Fellowship at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence in May 2019 and served as a thought partner/adviser for the School Leader Think Tank at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. She supports teacher leadership in the Brookfield School District and serves on the board of directors of the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Council, as well as several education committees in state and national organizations.