Maria Ruiz founded A New Awakening with very few material and financial resources, but she brought an incredible amount of dedication and knowledge and decades of involvement with organizations that support people experiencing domestic violence. Her passion for this work stems from the fact that she too survived a violent relationship, and she is always intentional about engaging survivors as organizational leaders. She has directly impacted the lives of thousands of people and created an organization that is recognized across the region for providing truly exceptional services.​