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 General Human Services Program Faculty

Ruth Murphy, M.A.

I earned a B.S. in Education with a major in Health & Physical Education from Illinois State (Normal) University and taught in Illinois for two years. I then "dropped out" of the paid work world, moved a lot, had three children, and earned an M.A. in Social Sciences with an emphasis in Women's Studies and minor in Psychology from San Jose State University. Following a move from California to Nevada, I became certified as a Drug and Alcohol Counselor and worked in a Social Detox Center, in a Residential Treatment Center for Native Americans, and then in a Women's Health Clinic. I also earned 26 additional Master's level credits in Counseling from the University of Nevada/Reno. While there, a class project sent me to volunteer in an organization for families who have experienced sexual abuse.

After one of my sons moved to the Central Coast and I realized that a warm climate and the ocean had much more appeal than cold air and snow, I made what I swear will be my last move. I was hired by Santa Maria Valley Youth and Family Center in 1988 to do Child Abuse Prevention Presentations in the schools until funding was eliminated by the State. I stayed with Youth and Family doing school and family counseling for another 6 years and then left to become Director of Social Services in a skilled nursing facility. In 1998, I returned to Youth and Family in their Therapeutic Foster Care Program. In July of 2000, State funding became available for programs for families of children 0 to 5, and since then I have been able to combine my two favorite things, teaching and leading groups as the Parent Educator within the Agency and at other agencies in Santa Maria.

In my leisure time, you can find me reading, walking by the ocean, in a thrift store, traveling to San Jose to see my one year old grandson, trying to figure out how to see my eight year old granddaughter in Oregon, or volunteering at Hospice of San Luis County.