“Taking a stand for myself and my values has been my biggest lesson” Sheila Ruiz, Senior Programme Manager, Commonwealth Foundation and NED

I grew up in Madrid and moved to London in the mid 90’s with my dad and siblings. As a young girl, my dream was to become a flamenco dancer, but I ended up studying history at UCL and then undertaking a Masters in African Studies at SOAS. My time there helped me reconnect with my African heritage and view the world from a less Eurocentric lens.

I’ve always believed in the power of the arts to connect people and inspire change, so after my masters, I took a job with a small arts production company where I learnt how to produce events from conception to evaluation, as well as the value of co-creation and partnerships.

From there, I moved to the Africa Centre where I worked to revive the public events programme during a challenging period of transition. Through key partnerships, I reignited audience interest in the centre as an inclusive cultural hub for Africans and non-Africans alike.

Following my stint at the Africa Centre, I took the decision to move on to the Royal African Society (RAS) and continue the work of mainstreaming African culture and thought in the UK. I feel my life has more meaning when I am purpose-driven and this work certainly felt like my mission during that period of my career.

After I became a senior manager at the RAS, I found a brilliant mentor who taught me not to walk away from difficult situations, but rather to face issues head-on and seek solutions. Some women are born fighters, but I was more of a people pleaser, so taking a stand for myself and my values has been one of my biggest lessons. Motherhood has also helped me in this regard. Becoming a mum gave me a new purpose and an inner strength I didn’t know I had.

With this new confidence, I leveraged my transferable skills and joined the Community Partnerships Team at Meta where I worked on a global programme supporting Facebook groups with a social impact focus. Following my time at Meta, I decided to take a career break and train as an embodiment coach, which is similar to life coaching, but working through the body. The embodied practices and tools I learnt are now an integral part of my life and I use them on a daily basis to self-regulate and to help others as well.

Apart from walking past 116 Pall Mall, I didn’t know much about the IoD before a friend suggested I join in 2023. I had been thinking about applying for board roles and the Emerging NEDs Special Interest Group seemed like a great community to be a part of. I was initially only open to pro bono trustee roles as I hadn’t realised I could become a paid NED, but my involvement with the Emerging NEDs gave me the knowledge and courage to apply for paid roles and I secured my first NED position with The Social Innovation Partnership at the end of 2023.

I come from humble beginnings and I still have imposter syndrome at times. I’ve never had a career plan, but I’ve always been driven by purpose and passion in all that I do and seized the opportunities that have come my way. Building a strong support network has also come easily to me, and I’ve been very fortunate to have people rooting for me at all stages of my professional life.

I feel incredibly grateful for the support I’ve received throughout my career and now at the IoD, and I look forward to further diversifying the institute’s membership through my work with the Emerging NEDs. I firmly believe that the more qualified people from diverse backgrounds an entity has appointed to its board, the richer the ideas and solutions generated will be. And that can only be a good thing.