David Ruth's Home Page
Return to Table of ContentsMy life took a radical turn when I left after four years of graduate studies at Harvard (Department of Social Psychology) with my Masters degree and my ABD (All But Dissertation) to join a commune in Central Virginia. During my four and a half years of living at Twin Oaks Community, I learned much about group process, leadership, non-coercive management methods, and communitarian theory. I also fathered Damia, who became for a number of years the most important person in my life, especially after Damia's mother decided to leave me for my good friend, Will. Damia has, of course, remained as one of the most important people in my life, as you'll see in my 1998 Holiday Greetings.
Return to Table of ContentsIn the Winter of '79, having left Twin Oaks two years earlier to live with Damia, her mother, and Will, I happened into the field that has become my life's work -- helping people with disabilities become employed and more self sufficient. I was hired to start and run a program that would provide people with direct assistance in finding and keeping jobs. Though my current work is all at the policy level, the focus is still the same. (To see some of that work, visit our "WorkWORLD website.)
In January of that same Winter, we hired Virginia Moore, a friend of mine from the commune years, to become my assistant--and the two of us promptly fell in love. Two years later we married, and she has become not only my wife, but a real friend and fellow adventurer.
Return to Table of ContentsDuring the holiday break in the Winter of '88, I wrote the first of a number of "Holiday Letters" to friends and colleagues in which I describe some aspect of my life rather than replicate the typical Christmas family news summary. I'm posting a slightly amended version here for those of you who may be interested in the formation of the "Intentional Neighborhood" we created with other former communards in 1980 (the neighborhood in which we lived until 1999, when we moved 30 miles to Charlottsville), and/or in the Christmas Eve ceremony our blended/extended family developed and participated in for many years.
Return to Table of ContentsIn the Summer of 1986 our neighborhood built a 4 acre pond by damming Bakers Branch, a little creek that serves as the home ground of a number of beaver families downstream of the pond site. By 1984 some of the beavers had found their way back to our pond, and they decided that the level of the pond should be much higher than we had designed it to be. During the Winter of 1994-95 we started our battle with beavers, one that continues to this day. Fortunately, I find this battle light-hearted. I hope you will too.
Return to Table of ContentsI became a grandfather when Damia, at age 23, gave birth to Logan Callaway Browder while immersed in a birthing tub in Portland, Oregon. Now Logan, Damia and Jay live in Charlottesville, so I get to see and be with him as he is growing up. It is a central highlight in my current life. To see some photos of Logan, go to Grampa's Photo Area.
Return to Table of ContentsFor a few years a number of people in the central office of the Social Security Administration (SSA) have been praising the software that we have been developing at the Employment Support Institute. (The software, called WorkWORLD lets users know what happens to people's disability benefits when they use various work incentives and go to work. The software also helps us analyze the effects of different policy initiatives.) Now SSA is funding us to further develop the software for eventual national distribution. If you are interested in knowing more about this work, visit our WorkWORLD web site.
Street address:
434 Alwood Lane
Charlottesville VA 22901-3768
Electronic mail address:
davidjruth@yahoo.com
Home phone:
434 245 5224
Please tell me what you think about my home page and how I might improve it.
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