Outstanding Women of Valencia County:

Ruth Huning-Gonzales

Published March 13, 2025 - 5:00 a.m. Modified March 13, 2025 - 12:21 p.m.

Ruth Huning-Gonzales is the manager of Huning LLC, and was formerly an HR manager for Niagara Bottling and BNSF Railway.

She has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from New Mexico State University, and a master’s degree in business administration from Kansas State University.

She is married to her husband, Thomas J. Gonzales; and they have one son, Samuel, and a daughter, Madeline.

She serves on the UNM-Valencia Campus Development Board, the board of directors for Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance (AREA). She is also a member of the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors and holds a SCP from the Society of Human Resource Management.

What is the biggest challenge and most rewarding aspect of your profession?

“The most rewarding aspect of my profession is the ability to help bring in companies that benefit our community and provide jobs for our citizens. The biggest challenge of my profession has been the learning curve that came with switching from a career in human resources to one that is real estate centric.”

What motivates your community involvement and being an active presence in the community?

“My motivation comes from my desire to give back to the community that I live and work in. Watching my father and his love of our community was influential in my upbringing, and continues to guide me today from the work that I do to the boards and organizations I am involved with.”

How do you achieve work-life balance?

“I try to achieve work-life balance by setting clear boundaries with my time between work and personal life, remaining flexible and planning time off to spend with my family and practice self care.”

What is one of your accomplishments that you are most proud of?

“One of the accomplishments that I am most proud of is being part of the team that brought the UNM-Valencia Campus Workforce Training Center to fruition. It was a long time goal of my father’s and great uncle’s to see UNM-VC have a presence on the west side of Los Lunas for our students and residents, and I was honored that I could help make that a reality.

How do you define success in life?

“To me, success in life is being able to achieve the goals that you have set for yourself, whether those be professional or personal goals or a combination of the two.”

What is the best advice you received and from whom?

“The best advice I received was from my father, Louis Huning. He always taught me to listen to understand rather than to just respond. This is such as valuable skill, because too often people aren’t listening to others to truly understand the issues or the question.”