Mara Ruff

Mara Ruff oversees the government affairs practice for Sinai Health System. Her responsibilities include: building relationships with government partners and community stakeholders; advancing the system’s policy initiatives and legislative priorities across all levels of government, and working collaboratively with Sinai executive leadership and board members, to navigate policy change, its impact on the system, and develop a system‐wide strategy.

Mara has over 15 years of legal and government affairs experience. Prior to joining Sinai Health System, Mara served as Director of Local Government Affairs at the Jewish Federation of Chicago, leading the Federation’s advocacy efforts at the city and county level and also assisted the organization’s Springfield Office. Mara worked on a variety of legislative matters that impacted the Federation’s network of healthcare and human service agencies and also worked on issues important to the Jewish community, like anti‐hate reforms and pro‐refugee and immigration policies.

Before transitioning to a government affairs practice, Mara worked as a staff attorney at Life Span where she represented victims of domestic violence in divorce, custody, and civil order of protection cases and, at the Office of the Public Guardian, worked as an attorney and guardian ad litem, representing abused and neglected children in foster care. Mara began her career as an AmeriCorps volunteer at Legal Aid Chicago.

Mara is also a leader in her community. Previously, she served on the boards of Resilience in Chicago, Equal Justice Works, in Washington, D.C., and is a former steering committee member of the Jewish Coalition Against Sex Trafficking (JCAST). Mara currently sits on the board of the Decalogue Society of Lawyers and the advisory board of the Chicago Jews for Refugees Coalition. Mara is also a member of the Chicago Bar Association, Illinois Hospital Association, and America’s Essential Hospitals.