Ruth A. Wooden
Ruth Wooden became President of Public Agenda in 2003.
Before joining Public Agenda, Ms. Wooden was Executive Vice President-Senior Counselor at the international public relations firm of Porter Novelli, where she led the Advertising and Cause-Related Marketing Practice. Before joining Porter Novelli in 2001, she served as volunteer President of the National Parenting Association.
From 1987 to 1999, Ms. Wooden was President of The Advertising Council, the nation’s leading producer of public service announcements. During her tenure, the Ad Council collaborated with Public Agenda on the groundbreaking study "Kids These Days: What Americans Really Think About the Next Generation," which was named by Congressional Quarterly as one of the 50 most important documents of 1997.
From 1978 to 1987, Ms. Wooden worked as Account Supervisor, Senior Vice President and Managing Director at N.W. Ayer Advertising in New York. She began her career as a research brand analyst at the Ralston Purina Company in St. Louis.
Ms. Wooden currently serves as chair of the board of Civic Ventures and as a member of the boards of Research!America, Teachers Count, Independent Sector and Demos. She serves on a number of advisory committees and was a former Director of CARE and the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.
Ms. Wooden attended Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and she received a B.A. in Sociology and History from the University of Minnesota. In 1994, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Northeastern University.
She is the recipient of United Jewish Appeal’s Maxwell Dane Humanitarian Award; Advertising Woman of the Year; the Prudential Prize in Non-Profit Leadership and the Matrix Award from New York Women in Communication.
