APLU Staff Highlight: Sandy Ruble

Name: Sandy Ruble
Department: Cooperative Extension/ECOP (CFERR)
Title: Assistant Director
Joined APLU: March 3, 2014

How did you end up working at APLU? While conducting research for a professional development blog post on the topic of the 100th Anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act, I clicked on job openings on the APLU website and was intrigued by one of the positions listed. Long story short, I applied for the staff associate opening with APLU’s Executive Committee on Organization and Policy even though I was uncertain of my own willingness or readiness to relocate.

What education or work experience had the greatest impact on you? As a Cooperative Extension County Administrative Assistant, I participated in a training offered by the North Carolina State University College of Life and Science, Opening Doors. I discovered personal resilience and the value of practicing tolerance and reinforcing the power of diversity.

What current APLU project or initiative are you most excited about? It is a toss-up, either how Cooperative Extension contributes to and aligns with the higher education mission at public and land-grant universities or Well-Connected Communities: Building a Culture of Health.

What is your favorite thing to do on your day off? Hiking or sailing.

What is one thing on your bucket list? Take my family on a big, wonderful vacation.

What was your dream job as a child? I wanted to lead people on nature walks.

What’s the last book you read? Spirit Sail: A Memoir of Spirituality and Sailing by Nelson Price.

What’s the first thing you do when you look at your phone in the morning? Turn off the alarm set for 4:50 A.M.

Learn more about Sandy Ruble.