Ruth Valerio

Environmentalist, theologian and social activist, Canon Dr Ruth Valerio is Director of Programmes, Partnerships and Advocacy with Embrace the Middle East. Ruth carries a vision to inspire and equip Christians to a whole-life response to poverty and environmental breakdown, helping build a movement that brings about lasting change on the issues that impact the poorest and most vulnerable. Ruth led the theology and advocacy work as a director at Tearfund and pioneered the Eco Church movement with A Rocha UK. She longs to see the culture of the Church change so that caring for God’s earth becomes an integral part of church life, rather than an optional extra. She gained her doctorate from Kings College London, in which she looked at simplicity and consumerism and particularly at the relationship between Thomas Aquinas’ virtues of temperance and justice. Ruth holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Winchester and Chichester and is currently Canon Theologian at Rochester Cathedral. She is the author of a number of books and a regular media contributor.