Eric Ruthford grew up in the forests of South King County, hiking, bicycling and taking pictures in the foothills of the Cascades. His experience includes newspaper reporting for local publications including the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, financial management of a homeless shelter in San Francisco, and serving in the U.S. Peace Corps as a volunteer teacher of English as a foreign language. He has a bachelor's degree in communication from Pacific Lutheran University and a master's degree in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University. He is married to a zookeeper who works with endangered Clouded Leopards at the Point Defiance Zoo. A major annual event for him and his extended family is the Ride Around Washington, a six-day bike ride put on by the Cascade Bicycle Club that takes a different route each year to tour the back roads of Washington state.