Ruby Reed hails from Greenville, North Carolina. Most recently, she has worked with the Pan American Health Organization working to improve communication and researching and creating educational initiatives focused on mental health and gender-based violence. Ruby earned her bachelor’s degrees in psychology and global health from Duke University where she also minored in biology and was a Benjamin N. Duke Scholar. While at Duke, she directed a community service organization, established an intercollegiate social justice initiative and co-founded an online mental health resource. Ruby helped research and create community-based health interventions in the U.S., India, Nicaragua and Ecuador on topics including gender-based violence, immigrant rights and mental, cardiovascular and reproductive health. Her thesis examined transactional sexual behaviors in South Africa across race, gender and sexuality. Post-graduation, Ruby has conducted research in diverse fields including autism, healthcare access in U.S. Hispanic populations and family health in Liberia.