How Desiree Ruiz is Disrupting Real Estate and Making an Impact at Ralia Realty
Photo credit: Maryam Southam
When Desiree Ruiz looks out onto her front yard, she sees a beautiful tree that holds the spirit of her father. Over 300 people attended his funeral, a testament to the community he built and the love he inspired. His legacy left Desiree with a clear understanding of the impact one person can have.
As Desiree shares her father's story, you can feel the echoes of his gift for community building amplified in her. Desiree is a natural community builder, a compassionate guide, and a marketing expert, creating opportunities for connection wherever she goes.
Desiree's journey started with a bachelor's degree in Marketing, after which she worked for over two decades in the hospitality industry in Montreal. This experience, rich in personal relations and memorable moments, solidified her passion for community.
Today, she is the Marketing Manager and Community Specialist at Ralia Realty. She leads the company’s efforts to enhance brand presence, foster community engagement, and advocate sustainability in property management practices, driving positive change and furthering Ralia's purpose of creating spaces of connection.
She is also a mother, a certified holistic life and purpose coach, and one of the co-founders and Director of Marketing of Centre Kapwa, a non-profit organization that serves and supports the mental health and well-being of the Filipinx diaspora in Canada.
Rediscovering Passion and Purpose
In her youth, Desiree chose to study accounting to meet her family's expectations for a stable career. Despite it seeming like the right intellectual choice, it didn't fulfill her emotionally. After a year, she followed her intuition and switched to Marketing, a field that better suited her love for interacting with people.
Desiree went on to build a career, marry, and become a mother, often placing the needs and desires of others above her own. However, her divorce marked a pivotal moment, pushing her to lead with her intuition, stop people-pleasing, and start prioritising her own happiness and values.
This shift led her on a profound journey of self-discovery, reconnecting her with her Filipino heritage, ancestral traditions, and interconnectedness with land and community. This transformative experience grounded her in her values and gave her a clear vision of the impact she wanted to create in this life.
Desiree's professional and personal journey now assists Ralia Realty in leading from a more holistic and sustainable approach to real estate, one that prioritizes the well-being of the land and people.
Aligning Values with Vision at Ralia
Desiree's connection with Mya, the founder of Ralia Realty, was sparked by their mutual interest in human design. Their genuine bond and shared values created a strong foundation for their professional relationship. Desiree appreciates Mya's commitment to work-life balance and mental health, valuing a work environment where she can be authentic, manage multiple responsibilities, and thrive without compromising her well-being.
Desiree's values align perfectly with Ralia Realty's ethos. The company emphasizes community, compassion, care, inclusiveness, and sustainability—principles that deeply resonate with her. Her advocacy for holistic approaches and sustainability has made her a passionate champion of these values within the organization. Desiree believes in creating spaces where individuals feel safe to be themselves and are not restricted by societal expectations.
Ralia Realty and the Future
Looking ahead, Desiree aims to help Ralia Realty redefine what it means to redevelop real estate by prioritising the health and happiness of people and the planet, and by leading with more compassion.
She envisions Ralia as a leader in this movement, setting new standards for the industry and inspiring other developers to follow suit. Her role allows her to continue advocating for the principles she holds dear, making a meaningful impact, and planting seeds of change.