Bethsaida Ruiz is a Boricua (Puerto Rican name for the island people), gender non-conforming Buddhist warrior and cultural abolitionist who brings an abundance of experience to her social justice work, as a certified embodied life strategist, consultant, facilitator, trainer, and movement builder. 

As a gifted activist, transformative and restorative justice change agent, who has worked in nonprofit and governmental agencies for over 25 years, she is driven and adept at cultivating high-performance teams and developing collaborative relationships with a wide range of diverse communities, stakeholders, and government agency partners. 

Currently Bethsaida is a leader and organizer in La Tertulia Boricua, a social cultural arts organization in Oakland, where she is working on an anthology of Boricuas in the diaspora, due out in the fall of 2023. Bethsaida is a member of the Bay Area Alliance for a Sustainable Puerto Rico (BAASPR), which is a SF Bay Area Boricua diasporic organization working in education, community building and organizing, supporting mutual aid and environmental justice organizations in Puerto Rico and in Oakland, after hurricanes Maria and now Fiona. Bethsaida is also a core leader and organizer for Thrive East Bay in Oakland. Thrive East Bay is a new kind of community relevant for the 21st century bringing people together at the intersection of personal and social transformation, informed by modern science and ancient wisdom, infused with a deep sense of purpose and interconnectedness, inspired by the arts, and focused on social change.

Bethsaida works as an independent consultant, coach, and trainer with Spirit in Action, Resilience Network, Thrive East Bay, With/in Collaborative, UCSF Benioff Houselessness and Housing Initiative, Circles International and several private coaching clients.  She also working with several Equity and Diversity working groups, e.g., the City of Oakland’s Equity Working Group of the General Work Plan, PG&E’s Community Vulnerability Project, and the BIPoC Leadership Transition Project.  

Bethsaida is Bi-Lingual & Bi-Cultural (Spanish, speak, read, and write). Bethsaida received her professional coaching certification from Leadership that Works and an Embodied Social Justice Certification from The Embody Labs. In Reverence, Grace and Humility, Deep Bows of Gratitude.