Rudy Ruttimann has been the Executive Director of SKETCH since 2000. She has been highly involved in creating this successful community arts organization that engages youth who are homeless or on the brink of homelessness, and who have experienced victimization, addiction, and physical and mental adversities.
Rudy has been an invaluable asset to SKETCH. Under her leadership, SKETCH has grown from 4 to 14 staff members. Rudy was instrumental in securing SKETCH’s current home at King and Spadina, which offers a variety of arts and skillbased workshops to disadvantaged youth. SKETCH has been awarded the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s Innovation Award and Best Practices recognition for the past five years.
In 2009 SKETCH is preparing for the inevitable location move required because of rising real estate values in the Queen Street West area. As Executive Director, Rudy is responsible for developing a plan to facilitate the move. The Vital People grant will allow her to engage in both formal and informal training toward that goal. Leadership Institute courses at Schulich and a forum at Artscape on developing creative project spaces will be supplemented by engaging with the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto and other leaders in the community in order to glean from their experience on developing a strategic capital campaign.
