Ruth Palacio MS, CASAC

Ruth Palacio helps leaders and organizations bridge the gap between wellbeing and performance. With over 25 years of experience across healthcare, behavioral health, and corporate sectors, she brings a rare blend of clinical insight and organizational strategy to every conversation helping people and teams communicate more effectively, lead with authenticity, and create cultures of psychological safety and trust.

ACADEMIC HISTORY

Upon graduating from Syracuse University, Ruth worked on Wall Street and received a unique education in the mechanics of the corporate environment. Witnessing how addictions can easily surface as daily life pressures increase,  she returned to graduate school. She pursued a Master’s in Education and Counseling with a focus on Addictions and Systems Theory, launching her lifelong mission to bring wellbeing, self-awareness, and compassionate leadership into the workplace. While working with The Addiction Institute of New York (formally Smithers Treatment Center) and consulting with Freedom Institute, she specialized in behavioral psychology, which continues to be her passion.

In expanding her expertise in communication, she became a Master Practitioner of (NLP) Neuro-Linguistic Programming (Advanced Communication Skills Training).

BACKGROUND

Her work is informed by a career that began in finance at Cantor Fitzgerald and Euro Brokers Inc, in New York’s World Trade Center, where following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, she saw firsthand how pressure and stress can quietly impact even the most dedicated professionals. She introduced self-care as an integrated resource to improve performance and wellbeing within an organization. This is the foundation of her consulting practice.

TODAY

Palacio Consulting LLC and her work as a Clinical Health Educator with RWJBarnabas Health’s Institute for Prevention and Recovery, Ruth develops and delivers wellbeing and leadership programs that have been recognized nationally, including the 2021 NJ Biz Workplace Wellness Healthcare Hero Award. She co-created the CME-accredited “Stigma & Self-Care” training for medical providers and continues to champion recovery-informed leadership and psychological safety across teams and systems.

Dynamic, compassionate, and fluent in Spanish, Ruth’s approach blends evidence-based education with genuine human connection. Her work reminds us that wellbeing and success are not competing goals, yet the foundation of meaningful, sustainable leadership.