Ruth Fortune

Ruth Fortune embodies the American dream. She arrived in the U.S. as an undocumented child and became a wife, mother, attorney, and dedicated member of the Hartford Board of Education.

Ruth moved from Haiti to the United States with her family when she was twelve and was undocumented for a decade, sharing a single bedroom with eight relatives in New York. She carried the stigma of being labeled “illegal” in silence. In January 2010 – just four months before Ruth graduated from Baruch College – a devastating earthquake struck Haiti and destroyed a large part of the country, including Ruth’s childhood neighborhood. The Obama Administration turned this tragedy into a lifeline for undocumented Haitians by granting them Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which offers protections from deportation and authorization to work legally in the United States.

Getting TPS transformed Ruth’s life. Without it, she would have only hung her college diploma on the wall of her small bedroom instead of using it to build a better life for herself. She learned through her lived experiences that the government has the power not just to regulate lives, but to liberate them.

Ruth’s life and career, first as a financial advisor, now as a trust and estate attorney, have been dedicated to building intergenerational financial stability. The shrinking middle class poses a direct threat to American democracy, fueling a growing fear that the next generation will inherit fewer opportunities and fewer rights. Ruth has defied the odds herself, rising into the middle class while gaining a clear, practical understanding of the policies and laws that hold families back. Her lived experience and professional expertise are not just relevant, they are urgently needed now.