Ruiz-Sapp earned her BA in Literature from
Bard College in 1989 and is the co-founder and core member of Universes, a national ensemble theater company. Founded in
The Bronx, New York, in 1995, Universes brings together a diverse group of multi-disciplined writers and performers of color who fuse theater, poetry, dance, jazz, hip hop, politics, blues, and Spanish boleros to create stage works. The group, originally formed as a poetry collective performing slam poetry at clubs and cafés in Manhattan's
Lower East Side, began with members Ruiz-Sapp, her brother,
William Ruiz,
Gamal Chasten, and
Steven Sapp. The group created the production titled
Ameriville, a response to how America responded in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina. Universes aimed to present the United States as a united community, rather than a fractured society divided by divergent customs and beliefs. In 2025, Ruiz-Sapp co-directed
Tipi Tales from The Stoop, a project that explores family history and generational trauma. In collaboration with Murielle Borst-Tarrant, the production tells the story of a young girl growing up in the only Native family in a Mafia-run Brooklyn neighborhood, embarking on a quest to preserve cultural traditions. == Theater Credits Include ==