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Board Member Spotlight - Margaret Ruff

Published on 5/3/2019

This week's featured coach is Margaret Ruff, ACC who is the President of our ICF-CT chapter.

Who am I?
Hello! I am Margaret Ruff. I am elated by the opportunity to have spent time this past year leading a board of excellent leaders and coaching colleagues. My husband and I recently sold our home in Fairfield and moved to Darien, where we enjoy being closer to New York City. While in Fairfield, we raised our son who is an avid all-mountain skier. He attends college in Vermont, where we love to visit and have enjoyed a second home since his early childhood. 

I value family and education above all. I am the youngest of 11 siblings. Our father was an international transportation engineer, and mother, a nurse, actress, opera singer, writer, genealogist – and the most interesting person I’ve ever known! Altogether, my family, plus my siblings’ families are almost 60 people strong! It is a rich, loving, and rewarding life. I feel very fortunate to be with all of them.


What do I do?

I started my career in Education with a Master’s degree in Education and as an Elementary school teacher in New York City. I continued my career in suburban Connecticut and entered school leadership positions with a Sixth Year in Educational Administration, before leaving my career to raise my family in 2005, 

I began my journey back to work by completing the Executive Leadership Program at the University of Connecticut, which prepares school district leaders and superintendents for their work. It was here that I became more interested in executive education and coaching. I developed as a coach by studying at Minds at Work in Cambridge, MA from 2009-2011, where I became a certified Immunity to Change coach and certified Subject-Object Interviewer. 

My passion for human development, starting from early childhood and now through the adult stages of development, is a main source of joy on my coaching journey. It has led me to the Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching as a certified professional coach and Energy Leadership Index
Master Practitioner. I enjoy coaching individual leaders as well as groups, especially the Immunity to Change workshop for leaders in business and nonprofit organizations.


What am I passionate about?
I deeply enjoy the leadership development journey. I am passionate about entrepreneurship, and focused on developing leaders with a deep sense of purpose and a desire for social good. 

I am most passionate about parenting a young adult who is setting an example for us and his peers every day. While becoming an avid atmospheric scientist, our son explores mountains, connects deeply with the freedom of the outdoors, and nurtures his ability to foster caring relationships. With this in mind, I remember that my why is to provide and grow my own expansive psychological and emotional capacities, so that I can guide others to grow as well.