Anique Ruiz

As a proud two-time Panther alumna, Anique serves as the WiscAMP STEM-Inspire Program Manager at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). This program provides mentoring, peer support and research opportunities for underrepresented minority STEM majors, funded by the National Science Foundation Louis Stokes Alliance on Minority Participation grant, the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and the American Family Insurance Dream Fund. Prior to her position with WiscAMP, Anique served UWM in the Office of Equity & Diversity Services and co-chaired both the 2013 & 2014 Milwaukee Partners in Giving Campaigns.

Last year, Anique was appointed to the HHMI Driving Change Institutional Self-Study Team with the goal of driving lasting institutional cultural change for students from historically excluded groups in STEM. She is also immediate past chair of the Multicultural Network and current chair of the Governance Committee of the African Diaspora Council (formerly the African American Faculty and Staff Council), along with her membership in the Latinx Faculty and Staff Association, CCHSI working group, and the Systemwide Caregiving Task Force Student Caregiver Subcommittee.

In addition to her role at UWM, Anique serves as professor teaching a course entitled, “Legal Issues in Public Service,” directed by long time UWM history professor and Director of CURTO at Marquette University, Dr. Robert Smith. In that capacity, she teaches students how to lead in nonprofit organizations by understanding good governance, legal principles of service, and the important of mission-oriented leadership. Anique is also the founder of The Journey For Women, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its vision is to empower women in need with resources and strategies to address their spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional needs. Anique also serves as a member of the Institutional Review Board at the Milwaukee Area Technical College in Milwaukee, WI.

Early on in her career, Anique successfully advocated on behalf of students as a legislative intern at the United States Student Association and the Council on Educational Opportunity in Washington, D.C. In that role, she lobbied on Capitol Hill for access to education, created a voter registration guide for college students, and was invited by Former President William Clinton to the Oval Office of the White House for his radio address on Social Security. Anique continued her work in government as an intern in the Office of Former U.S. Senator Russell D. Feingold.

Anique is an experienced attorney in both civil and criminal litigation. As a litigation attorney with Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan, LLP, Anique represented Fortune 500 clients, including Wal-Mart, Rockwell Automation, JPMorgan Chase, and AT&T. She also represented clients under the Student Practice Rule at the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office-Milwaukee Trial Division. Anique also gained experience as a summer associate at Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. in Milwaukee.

In 2012, Anique was elected as District Two Representative on the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Board of Governors. In that role, she represented over 4,000 attorneys and advised the Board as a member of the Policy Committee. She was also named a “Rising Star” by CCN Magazine and recognized at the 2012 Midwest Urban Empowerment Awards and one of Wisconsin’s 46 Most Influential Latino Leaders in 2022.  Interviews of Anique have been featured on both the Wisconsin Law Journal and the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network websites.

Anique served a two-year term as Chaplain for the Milwaukee Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and on the boards of Legal Action of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Association of African American Lawyers, the Wisconsin Hispanic Lawyers Association, and the Association of Women Lawyers. Her memberships have included the American Bar Association, the National Bar Association, and the Hispanic National Bar Association.

Anique earned her Juris Doctor degree from Marquette University Law School, where she was a Board member of the Moot Court Association, Vice President of the Black Law Students Association, and a member of the Judicial Committee. She earned a Master of Arts in Political Science at UWM and a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs and Political Science at Marquette University.  In 2013, Anique earned a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management at the Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management at UWM.

Anique has been admitted to practice law in the State of Wisconsin and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin. She is proficient in Spanish.