[1] She has been active in Chicano and Latino social justice work in the state of Oregon since the 1970s, helped found Portland's Cinco de Mayo festival, and has been a long-term volunteer for the Portland-Guadalajara Sister-City Association.
[2] Much of her academic career was spent developing Chicano and Latino Studies programming and curricula for Portland State University.
[2][3] Born in 1948 in Linares, Mexico, Alanis Ruiz spent parts of her childhood living with her grandmother Maria Luisa "Lichita" in Monterrey.
[2][4] Alanis Ruiz was recruited by graduate students Felipe Cañeda and Alfonso Cabrera to join the University of Oregon's High School Equivalency Program in 1970.
[2] Along with other migrant workers, she obtained her GED in the program and received a scholarship to study at the Language Institute at Oregon State University.
[6][7] Alanis Ruiz was involved in the creation of the PSU Chicano-Latino studies certificate in 1995, serving as the program's Associate Director.
Her role involved developing curricula, teaching classes, and advising student groups including PSU's MEChA chapter.
[2] Identifying with the movement's ties to migrant Mexican American farm workers, Alanis Ruiz went on to become a leader in Chicano groups in Oregon.