Ruth Dunham is a graduate student in the Master of International Public Policy program at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Education, with a minor in English, from Wilfrid Laurier University. Her experience includes academic research in education and leadership, education programming, and community outreach.

In 2023, she received an Undergraduate Student Research Award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and worked as a Research Assistant at Wilfrid Laurier University. Ruth contributed to research projects focused on education and leadership, including work informing a background paper commissioned for the 2024/25 UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report. She also worked on and co-authored a published scoping review examining inclusive education for culturally and linguistically diverse students and students with disabilities in Canada.

Outside her academic work, Ruth serves as Board Secretary for Education 4 Change, a non-profit organization working to improve access to education for marginalized communities in the Somali region of Ethiopia. Her academic interests include international relations, human security, international political economy, and global institutions and diplomacy.

Ruth wants to pursue a career in international policy, with a particular interest in security, international organizations and policy research. She is interested in exploring how international cooperation and policy tools can be leveraged to address complex global challenges.