Sustainability Now! | Betsy Ruhe | New District 21 Metro Councilwoman | Feb. 13, 2023

This week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, catches up with Betsy Ruhe, the new District 21 (South End) Metro Councilwoman. Betsy was elected to Metro Council in 2022. She currently serves as a member of the Parks & Sustainability Committee, the Planning & Zoning Committee, and the Equity, Community Affairs, Housing, Health & Education Committee.

Betsy Ruhe was born and raised in Louisville. She moved to the South End when she married her husband in 1991. She taught special needs children in Jefferson County Public Schools, until retiring in 2021. She was elected to Metro Council in November, 2022 and represents the neighborhoods of Beechmont, Wilder Park, Iroquois, Southside, Belmar, Preston Park, Sunshine Acres, My Old Kentucky Home, and the City of Lynnview. The District also includes the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport and the Kentucky Exposition Center.

Betsy earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from Bellarmine in 2000 with endorsements in special education and environmental education, and had the honor of becoming the first graduate of the University of Louisville’s Masters in Sustainability program. She is the founder of Orchards of Beechmont, a public orchard on South Third St., and a founding member of the Friends of Iroquois Park. She has a passion for spending time outdoors and getting her hands dirty, and can often be found walking her dog in Iroquois Park or along Southern Parkway, enjoying the fresh air and picking up litter, doing her part to keep her neighborhood beautiful.

Betsy Ruhe is a retired teacher and advocate for public green spaces, who says she will use her background in sustainability work to push for change as District 21’s Metro Council member. Ruhe was sworn in January 2023, taking over from Nicole George, who didn’t run for re-election and now oversees public health for Mayor Craig Greenberg’s administration. Learn more at https://louisvilleky.gov/government/metro-council-district-21

As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW!

Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at http://forwardradio.org

The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at http://appalatin.com