Kristi Youtsey Ruiz was born in Florence, Arizona. She is a Fifth generation Arizonan and Lifelong Pinal County resident. Kristi attended Eloy Elementary Schools, Coolidge High School for a short period and graduated from Santa Cruz Valley Union High School in Eloy. Shortly thereafter, Kristi graduated from the Associated Airlines School in Florida. She started her 15 year career with Pinal County: beginning with the Superior Court Law Library, while volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA); several years with Human Resources; including 10 years of public service with Health and Human Services. During her employment with Pinal County she attended Central Arizona College in Casa Grande and received a Bachelors of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix. Kristi made a full circle to the Superior Court when she took office as the newly elected Clerk of the Court on January 2003. Kristi's goal is to provide the best possible service to the people of Pinal County by utilizing her office as a conduit of information facilitating the judicial process, while combining technological advancements to enhance services provided by the office of the Clerk of the Court.

Kristi is presently a Member of the Arizona Association of Superior Court Clerks; Arizona Association of Counties; Arizona Family Support Council; National Association for Court Management; Arizona Courts Association; Pinal County Domestic Violence Task Force Committee; Pinal County Justice Integration Committee; NAACP; National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials; Council on Judicial Education and Training(COJET): Currently enrolled in National Center for State Court's Institute for Court Management.

Kristi's parents and family members are also Pinal County Lifelong Residents.