Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth update for Dec. 4 — Louge to take reins as Prevent Child Abuse Arizona director
by Community Contributor • • Comments Off on Coconino Coalition for Children & Youth update for Dec. 4 — Louge to take reins as Prevent Child Abuse Arizona director
Rebecca “Becky” Ruffner is about to start a new chapter in her life.
As she turns the page, the 72-year-old founder and executive director of Prevent Child Abuse Arizona, who will retire her post on Dec. 31, is confident the agency’s new leader is poised and ready for the task.
The agency on Wednesday announced the promotion of Training Director Claire Louge to Ruffner’s role upon her retirement.
Since 2014, Louge has served as an agency trainer, both for local and statewide events.
From upstate New York, Louge has a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in human development and a master’s degree in human relations from Northern Arizona University. She is a graduate of the American Express Leadership Academy at the Arizona State University Lodestar Center.
The high school students listened intently to the 9-1-1 call. The woman told the dispatcher that her baby wasn’t breathing. The dispatcher, calmly, walked the mother through the steps of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation until emergency crews could arrive.
“We are all super passionate about what we do,” said Katie Brandis, Communications Manager at the Law Enforcement Administrative Facility in Flagstaff. And, even though the work is stressful, she added, it is also very rewarding and dispatchers often make a difference between life and death.
Twelve students from area high schools spent the day on Nov. 14 at the Law Enforcement Administrative Facility learning about the careers in policing and emergency services available in Flagstaff and in the county. The event, the second installment of a two-day series, was organized by the Coconino County Arizona @ Work Business Service team, of which Coconino Community College is a member.
