Member at Large: Ruth Eley

Ruth Eley, LMSW holds an Associate’s degree as a Paralegal from DMACC before receiving her bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University in 1987 in Family Environment and her Master’s degree in 1997 in Family Services.  She has focused her career in behavioral mental health with foster and adopted youth in residential, family, kinship, fictive kin and adoptive placement.  Ruth has specialized in teenagers with multiple adoptions and human trafficking as their trauma stories and has adopted 18 into her permanent family.  Ruth has facilitated hundreds of adoptive placements in various steps of the process.  From 2008 to 2022 Ruth directed the Elevate/AMP Program which was Iowa’s Foster & Adoptive Youth Advocacy Program.  Iowa had the 3rd largest program in the nation which was a huge accomplishment for our state and allowed a national youth-voice in federal & state policy making.  Most recently, Ruth has worked for Prairie Lakes AEA as a School Social Worker before taking a position at South Hamilton Community Schools in their elementary school.  

When not at work, Ruth owns and operates a Cattery raising Maine Coon Cats.  She also has 27++ grand kids and counting from her 22 children.  She enjoys all kinds of road trips to see new people and places.  There are always 3-4 audio books in process for Ruth and if it has to do with dragons or Celtic culture, Ruth is “all in”