about me

"If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress."
 - Barack Obama
 

614.806.3290 | rebeccamariaruiz@gmail.com

Biography

My passion for sustainable business truly began with my first trips to Guatemala. As I visited family, I became enamored with the artisan culture and, with that in mind, began to wonder how the beautiful, handcrafted goods the small country had to offer, could impact the local economy. Since then, I decided to pursue a career in preserving both the environment and the unique cultures within it, using sustainable business as the means for positive change.

My work lives at the intersection of strategy, storytelling, and stakeholder collaboration, always with an eye toward long-term value and authentic engagement. I am a natural creative supporter, excited about cross-sector collaboration and building bridges between corporate social responsibility, nonprofit impact, and stakeholder engagement. I’m also the founder of Impactasnap, a startup dedicated to helping purpose-driven professionals and organizations track and amplify their impact stories through social media.

Work

2024 – 2025 Manager, Purpose Experience

Crocs, Inc – Broomfield, CO

● Created pathways to involvement in Crocs, Inc’s Sustainability/Purpose, enabling progress towards sustainability goals and ambitions through education, nonprofit partnership management, communications and marketing

● Led development and implementation of programs that enhance employee and external stakeholder experience and participation in Crocs, Inc.’s Purpose, establishing and managing processes associated with forms of giving including donations, volunteerism, impact reporting and using the power of storytelling to enhance sustainability

2020 – 2024 Sr. Specialist, Corporate Social Responsibility

The Wendy’s Company - Columbus, OH

● Worked with cross-functional partners including communications, quality assurance, supply chain, investor relations, and others, to drive the implementation and communication of system-wide Corporate Social Responsibility programs

● Supported major initiatives related to topics material to the Wendy’s business such as sustainable supply chain, energy, and climate, packaging and waste, people and ethics, animal welfare, and others

● Led Wendy’s Squarely Sustainable Council, an employee-led group focused on advancing sustainability at the Dublin, OH HQ

2019 – 2020  Director, Corporate Social Engagement

Changing Our World - New York, NY

● Supported Changing Our World clients by providing philanthropic counsel and management services, specializing in CSR strategy design and implementation, corporate sustainability, employee engagement, and community impact.

2017 – 2019 Sustainability Consultant

Schlange & Co. CSR Consulting - New York, NY

● Consultant to a wide range of Fortune 500 companies, specializing in materiality assessments, stakeholder surveys, sustainability communications, competitor benchmarking and risk assessments in the luxury, food and green building industries.

2016 – 2017 Sustainability Specialist

● Research assistant for multiple brands aiming to further their sustainability initiatives both in their own operations and their supply chain. Created client presentations, stakeholder surveys, and corporate recommendations.

Education

M.S. Sustainability Management - Columbia University in the City of New York

B.S. Natural Resources & Environmental Science - University of Kentucky