Therese Fernandez-Ruiz

• President and Founding Partner
  Rags2Riches

As a child, Therese Fernandez-Ruiz moved around often with her missionary mother. Exposed to the suffering of others, she was inspired to find solutions to social problems. Fernandez-Ruiz is a scholar in the Ateneo University where she took a degree in management. Deeply committed to helping others to improve their lives and alleviate poverty, she co-founded Rags2Riches, a for-profit social business enterprise based in the Philippines that creates home and fashion accessories out of upcycled and indigenous materials. Rags2Riches partners with top-notch designers to provide design direction to community-based artisans who make exquisite products with their hands and use Rags2Riches as a stepping stone out of poverty. Through Rags2Riches, artisans in the Philippines can have a roadmap to success.