Sylvia Ruiz-Ortiz

Office Assistant ~ Merced

Sylvia Ruiz-Ortiz has been with Community 


Catalysts of California for 9 years as the Office Assistant in the Merced office. She is truly 
an asset to both the Merced office and the Central Valley as a whole, as she has never 
allowed her job description to restrict what she is capable of and willing to do. 

One of Sylvia’s greatest and most acknowledged attributes is her positive attitude. 
Regardless of the circumstance, she is able to bring encouragement to those around 
her. She makes everyone’s job a little easier by making people a priority. No matter how 
small or menial the task, she is willing to stop what she is doing and help out where she 
is needed. 

She demonstrates attention to detail, excellent organizational skills and exceptional 
follow through. In 2008, she had a multitude of accomplishments: she acted as the 
Safety Coordinator for the Central Valley; she filled in as the Office Manager in 
the Fresno office while maintaining her work in the Merced office; she provided 
effective trainings to new staff in the Visalia and Fresno area and accepted new 
responsibilities within her own position in order to implement a solid resource and 
maintain organization with the databases; she monitored and calculated contract hours 
for another program in another area to help maintain accurate numbers for the Fresno 
Office. That is just to name a few! 

Sylvia’s commitment, positive attitude and willingness to go above and beyond her 
call of duty are among many reasons why she is invaluable to her office, the Central 
Valley and Community Catalysts of California. She truly leads by example and inspires 
those around her in all that she does. She reflects Community Catalysts of California’s 
purpose and vision and that is why she is so deserving of recognition as the recipient of 
The Catalyst P.R.I.D.E. Award of the Year for 2008.