Russell E. Ruderman was elected to the State Senate in 2012, representing all of the district of Puna and the town of Pahala in Ka‘u.
Russell graduated from Overbrook High School, Philadelphia, PA in 1971, and received a BS in Biology from Penn State in 1975. In 1985, he sailed to Hawai‘i from San Francisco on a small wooden boat. A pioneer in the natural foods industry for many years, in 1998, he founded Island Naturals, a group of retail grocery markets on the Big Island with locations in Hilo, Pahoa, Kailua-Kona and Kainaliu. Island Naturals is a strong supporter of local farmers and value-added producers and has been a constant champion of environmental issues like eliminating plastic bag pollution. For his work, Russell was named "Small Businessperson of the Year" for Hawai‘i County by the SBA in 2007, and also received Hawai‘i County's first "Keeping it Green" award the same year for his many innovations at Island Naturals.
Russell has served on the Hawai‘i County's Agriculture Advisory Committee, Solid Waste Advisory Committee, UH-Hilo Performing Arts Center Advisory Committee and the Hawai‘i County Environmental Management Commission. Russell was spokesperson for Big Island Rainforest Action Group and an intervener before the PUC in its first renewable energy Integrated Resource Management docket in 1991. He has served as president of the Wa‘awa‘a Community Association and a member of "Think Local, Buy Local."
In his free time, Russell enjoys playing katchikatchi music with his band El Leo The Jarican Express and rock 'n roll guitar with Terrapin Station. He has one daughter, Kate, and granddaughter, Claire.