Ruth McGowan is an authority on both aspects of politics; the ‘big Politics’ of how to run a running winning political campaign for office, as well as mastering the ‘small politics’ of political intelligence. She is the author of Get Elected, the Australian campaign guide to winning political office, and is an accredited trainer in Political Intelligence. 

Ruth is a former Mayor and Councillor and has been involved in several political campaigns with Independent candidates for state and federal office. She works across Australia as a Councillor Coach and delivers training to help candidates get elected to all levels of politics. Since 2019, Ruth has partnered with various local governments, Local Government peak bodies and Women for Election to train thousands of women to stand for office. Ruth is an engaging presenter. In her workshops she shares case studies, practical tips and fascinating insights about becoming engaged in the political process as a candidate, including what to watch out for on the campaign trail and the do's and don'ts for every candidate. Ruth is an alumnus of the Victorian Pathways to Politics program (2017) and a regular guest lecturer for the P2P programs throughout Australia, where her encouraging delivery style and unique content are always highly rated by participants.     

Ruth is passionate about supporting diverse candidates to stand for office and has cofounded a number of gender equality movements, including More Women for Local Government, Put Her Name On It, Honour a Woman and 1000 Women Standing. Her many years of volunteer service and community activism have been recognised with an Order of Australia Medal.