Joel Ruffin Sr. Bio Joel E. Ruffin, Sr., is a Vice President and Senior Engineer in the Technology Division at Goldman Sachs. Joel joined Goldman Sachs in 2000 leading several information security initiatives, most notably the successful implementation of Investment Banking’s application risk management framework and program. In 2015, Joel joined the Technology Management and Strategy team in the office of the global COO where he currently serves.  Before joining Goldman Sachs, Joel was Manager of Enterprise Systems and Networking Engineering at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in Princeton, New Jersey. Joel believes in the liberating power of education and its ability to unleash creativity, innovation, and value creation across organizations, communities, and individuals.

In 2010 and 2013, Joel was awarded the Big Brother of the Year in the State of New Jersey. He received a Joint Legislative Resolution from State of New Jersey and a Proclamation from the Office of the Mayor of New Jersey. Joel is a member of the Strategic Advisory Board for Rising Tide Capital, a Technology Advisor for Council of Urban Professionals (CUP) and part of the Goldman Sachs and Casey Foundation Foster Care initiative leadership team. He is a guest speaker and corporate partner for Year Up Organization. He has been a member of Drexel University Goodwin College’s Advisory Council since 2017 and selected as the 2018 Commencement Speaker. Joel is an Adjunct Professor for the college, and a guest lecturer for the 2019 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), held in Philadelphia, PA.

Joel earned an MS Degree in Information Knowledge Strategies from Columbia University, an MS Degree in Cyber Security Management from New York University, and a BS Degree in General Studies/Computer Science from Drexel University/Goodwin College.