Mills, Ruth Annette

Ruth Annette Mills was born December 13, 1932 and was raised in Washington, D.C.. Mills and her husband, Charles Mills, lived in Georgia, Texas, and Maryland before coming to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1968. She worked as a typist for the Office of Education at one point and did volunteer work for her church, the Cub Scouts, and the League of Women Voters (LWV). Mills also worked as a clerk-typist for the Clark County School District, and eventually became a teacher through the Teacher Corps program. She graduated in 1975 and was hired to teach 6th grade at Gilbert Magnet Elementary School.

The school integration program was just beginning when Mills was first hired as a teacher. She held the position of facilitator and having been involved through her church with the Civil Rights Movement in other states, she was disappointed with the racist attitudes she encountered in Las Vegas.

Mills’ involvement with health care began when her daughter-in-law developed kidney stones and was denied treatment. In 1993, she started the Nevada Health Care Reform Project through the LWV in order to support Bill Clinton’s health plan. Fifteen years later, over 100 organizations have come on board to support the League’s coalition in favor of Clinton’s plan, and her fondest wish is that one day, Universal Health Care will be available to all Americans.