Ruth Ribeiro
Ruth Ribeiro is a seasoned healthcare professional with more than 35 years of experience in the medical field and currently serves as a Remote Patient Navigator at Eon Health. Known for her dedication and resilience, Ruth began her career at just 17 years old in Manhattan, where she worked with Harold Riskin, then president of the American Diabetes Association. That early experience became the foundation of her knowledge in patient care and chronic disease support. Throughout her career, Ruth has remained deeply committed to healthcare and takes pride in never stepping away from the field. For her, quitting was never an option. She continued moving forward through every challenge while maintaining a lifelong dedication to helping others.
Ruth received her medical assistant training from Mandl School of Allied Health Careers, where she specialized in laboratory procedures including venipuncture, blood counts, urinalysis, and glucose monitoring. She also studied nursing and office administration at Kingsborough Community College. Her professional background includes clinical and administrative roles supporting both patients and healthcare providers, including her previous position as a Medical Assistant at MetroHealth Inc.. Today, working remotely as a patient navigator allows Ruth to coordinate patient files and reports, schedule exam reminders, communicate with providers regarding care plans, and ensure patients receive clear health instructions while maintaining a patient centered approach to care.
Beyond her medical career, Ruth is also a proud published author whose personal experiences have shaped her voice as a writer. A survivor of domestic violence, she felt compelled to share her story in hopes that it could inspire and support other women. Her late father, who affectionately called her “the doctor” and proudly told others he had a doctor in the family, always encouraged her to become the best version of herself and to write her story. Honoring that encouragement, Ruth published her first book, A Witch’s Perfume, which blends elements of her personal journey with her interests in magic and herbalism and is intended to leave a lasting impression on readers much like the lingering scent of perfume. She recently completed her second book, Midnight Survivor: The Monarch’s Flight, and considers becoming a published author one of her proudest accomplishments alongside her lifelong career devoted to caring for others.
• Registered Medical Assistant
• Certified Wedding and Event Planner (CWP)
• Lisenced Phlebotomy Technologist
• King's Borough CC Brooklyn, New York - Associate's degree, Nursing/Office Administration
• Mandl Medical School, Manhattan, NY
• Featured in Influential Women Magazine 2026 Edition
• Influential Women 100
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to never giving up and never allowing myself to quit. For me, quitting just didn't exist as an option. I just kept going through everything, no matter what challenges I faced. My father was my biggest inspiration. He always believed in me and called me 'the doctor' even though I wasn't one, because he always believed in me being my best self. That meant everything to me and pushed me to keep going. I'm proud that I was able to study as hard as I did and reach the heights of my career that I have. Even when I didn't think I was good enough to write a book, even when I felt intimidated by all the other authors out there, I pushed through that self-doubt. My dad told me before he passed away that I needed to write my book, and that encouragement from him, my inspiration in life, made all the difference. I never stopped to take a break in my medical career. I just continued through and didn't allow myself to quit, and I'm extremely proud of that. Everything I've accomplished, from my 35+ years in the medical field to becoming a published author, comes from that determination to never give up and to always believe I could do it, even when I doubted myself.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
When asked about the people who have been an inspiration of Rue's life she mentioned that she has several people and asked if we have the space to include them all. She has such an amazing group of people who have really impacts her life beginning with her father appeared she loves her mother very much, she was an incredible woman and really tough very hands on in her family but her dad who was always very humble, has been an incredible inspiration. Her father and her were always extremely close and she called him by his name, Pedro because her siblings didn't, and she wanted to be different and set their relationship aside as something special. Her father served as an influence within the community as an incredible pastor, he was a strong man and served a wonderful contributor to their community. Ruth shared an experience in which her father came to school with her to talk to her teachers about students who were bullying her after moving to St Croix Virgin Islands from Puerto Rico, in a strange land where she felt vulnerable her father came to her rescue. When he entered an argument with a teacher when the teacher was defending the other child, her father stood his ground and said as he placed his Bible down that we can take this outside because I am a man just like you. She felt that her father always had her best interests at heart and stood up for her, and this meant the world to her. Ruth feels that she was always number, as well as her siblings in her father's eyes. Everyone she met along her path since her father's passing has said to her that he was the strongest person and always remained humble. He had an incredible impact on his community as a pastor and would give you the world if he could.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I will say first what my dad told me: don't ever give up. I know that's a line that everybody says, but to me, it was different because it came from him, my inspiration in life. But for me, I will say, don't ever think that you can't do something. Don't let that self-doubt stop you. I always thought I wasn't good enough to write a book, that I was too intimidated, that no one would listen to my books because there were so many other authors out there. But I pushed through that, and here I am. So my advice is: do everything you can and don't let anything stop you. Don't ever give up, and don't ever think you can't do it.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Ruth will be jumping into add more detail pertaining to her career experience and what led her inspiration into publishing her first and second book, how she would like to connect with other women within our community, how she would like to inspire our readers, her interests and hobbies outside of work, more detail pertaining to those who have inspired her career and helped motivate and mentor her journey, and any details permanent to sharing her story and what she's looking forward to as her next chapter continues.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I will say family, because everything involves that. I know it's like a common subject, but if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have the inspiration. I even thank the universe for their father, my ex-husband, because if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have a story to write, and I wouldn't have my sons. My current husband cannot have kids and never had them, so I told my sons that's why their father came to this world, for them. Everything involved in my story, the experience, the feelings, the emotional journey, all of that is because of family. My sons are now 33 and 23, so I don't have boys anymore, I have men, but I still see them as kids in my eyes. I love sitting down with them and talking about things, specific subjects, spiritual stuff or not, different things. I always ask them, you know, what do you think about that? What would you do? What do you think could be maybe in the future? I love those conversations. I always try to have my life in a balance, like carrying it in a balance. If I take too much of one side, the other one will tilt, so I try to keep everything balanced between my personal life and my work.