MEET RAUL RUIZ

Dr. Raul Ruiz has always put People First. The son of hardworking farmworkers, Dr. Ruiz grew up in Coachella and learned at an early age that the key to attaining the American Dream is hard work and a great education. In the summer of 1990, Raul walked in the desert heat from business to business in the Coachella Valley asking them to invest in their community by contributing to his education. With each investment for college, he made a promise to come back home and serve his community as a physician.

During and after his education at UCLA and Harvard, where he became the first Latino to earn three graduate degrees, Congressman Ruiz also volunteered and worked abroad. He spent a year as a medical student with Partners in Health, bringing health care to the poor in Mexico. In El Salvador and Serbia, he served as a consultant to the ministers of health on emergency healthcare reform and in 2010, Dr. Ruiz was one of the first people on the ground in Haiti after the devastating earthquake.

As promised, after earning a medical degree and two graduate degrees from Harvard University, Dr. Ruiz returned to the Coachella Valley, where he utilized his education and experience to not only become a leader in his community but to serve as an emergency physician. As the founder and director of the Coachella Valley Healthcare Initiative, he brought together stakeholders to improve public health and healthcare access in this badly underserved community.

And, as an emergency physician – not a career politician – Dr. Ruiz has spent his time in Congress fighting to protect Medicare and Social Security, standing up for Veterans, opposing DC-insider perks and privileges, and always remembering where he came from.