Representative Sheila Ruth Contact information

Sheila S. Ruth is an American politician who represents district 44B, based in Baltimore County, in the Maryland House of Delegates. She was born on October 22, 1963, in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. She is a member of the Democratic Party and is married with one son. She resides in Catonsville, Maryland.

Sheila Ruth’s educational background includes attending the University of Maryland University College from 1982 to 1987. She also attended Villa Julie College, where she received a B.S. degree in liberal arts & technology in 1995.

In her professional career, following her graduation from the University of Maryland University College in 1987, Ruth became a publishing systems programmer for Attis Publishing Services from 1987 to 1989 and a computer specialist for the U.S. Government Accountability Office from 1989 to 1992. Afterwards, she became a computer analyst for Villa Julie College from 1992 to 1994. She later worked as a website developer in the same year, and as a website technologies instructor in 1999. Following her graduation, Ruth became a self-employed website developer. She has served as the president of Imaginator Press since 2003 and is the current vice president of Cybils Awards. From 2004 to 2008, she served as the president of Mid-Atlantic Book Publishers Association.

Ruth entered into politics in 2016, motivated by the 2016 presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders and horrified by the election of Donald Trump, by founding the Baltimore County Progressive Democratic Club. In 2017, Maryland Democratic Party chair Kathleen Matthews invited Ruth to serve on the party’s diversity leadership council. In 2018, she became a member of the Baltimore County Democratic Central Committee. She is also the co-chair of the Baltimore City/County chapter of Our Revolution and is a board member of Get Money Out-Maryland.

As an activist, she organized support for a package of Baltimore County bills meant to strengthen ethical standards and institute public campaign financing, and was a lead organizer pushing for the passage of Baltimore County’s anti-discrimination housing law that prevents landlords from denying applicants based on their source of income.

Sheila Ruth assumed office on January 31, 2020. Her current term ends on January 13, 2027. She serves on the Environment and Transportation Committee. Her priorities include climate, transit equity, racial justice, universal healthcare, mental health, juvenile justice, disability rights, reproductive rights, and workers’ rights.