Ruhi Maker received a law degree from the London School of Economics. 

In 1989, she joined the Empire Justice Center (formerly Monroe County Legal Services). She works on housing policy. She has worked on tenants’ rights, the foreclosure crisis, access to credit, community reinvestment, consumer rights and zoning. 

In 1990 she co-convened the Community Development Block Grant Coalition to improve targeting CDBG funds to low and moderate income households in Rochester.  

She co-convened the Greater Rochester Community Reinvestment Coalition (GRCRC) in 1993, along with local grassroots agencies. GRCRC engages with the top banks that have branches and CRA obligations in Rochester NY.  Ms. Maker and Dr. Barb Van Kerkhove have released over a dozen analyses of home mortgages, small business and subprime lending data. 

In 2002, she was appointed to a 3-year term on the Federal Reserve Board's Consumer Advisory Council. Along with other consumer advocates, she raised concerns about predatory mortgage practices and the implications for the broader economy. 

 In 2016 Ms. Maker was appointed to a 3-year term on the CFPB Consumer Advisory Council where she worked on housing, small business and consumer issues. 

In 2017, at Ms. Maker’s urging, the New York Federal Reserve issued a report on the credit profile of City of Rochester residents. The report found that more than 50% of City of Rochester residents had subprime credit and were majority nonwhite. Dr. VanKerkhove and Ms. Maker co-authored the report, “Too Big to Fail…Too Poor to Bank: How Mainstream Financial Services Can Help Low-Income Working Families Succeed.” The report reviewed traditional bank products and services, as well as those provided by alternative financial services, like check cashers.  She serves on the Office of Financial Empowerment’s Bank on Coalition.

In August 2024 Ms. Maker was appointed to the Racial and Structural Equity Housing Community Recommendation team. She co-wrote Comments on the City of Rochester’s draft Zoning Plan. She is working with other local not for profits on advocating for increased density and missing middle housing in the towns of Monroe County.