Rev. Dr. Rutt earned the Doctor of Ministry degree in 2017 from Andover Newton Theological School (now a part of Yale Divinity School) where she graduated with honors and was inducted into the Jonathan Edwards Society. Her dissertation, “The Call of the Mourning Dove: How Sacred Sound Awakens Mystical Unity,” was awarded the Frederick Buechner Prize for Excellence in Writing. She graduated from the New Seminary in New York City in 2005 and was ordained an interfaith minister. In the 1980s and 90s, Rev. Dr. Rutt worked as a mental health counselor and taught for many years on the college level in the behavioral sciences including eight years with the University of New Hampshire. During that time period, she also earned certifications in various yoga and meditation disciplines and in the late 90s opened the Tree of Life Yoga Studio which later became the Tree of Life School for Sacred Living.

Rev. Dr. Rutt is the author of six books:

• Dancing on the Moon: The Non-Ordinary Live I Never Saw Coming, A Spiritual Memoir, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2023.
• Lovers in the Wilderness: Awaken Mystical Unity and Create a Joyful Life with Mantra Prayer, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2021. (updated and renamed edition of Doorway to the Sacred: Transform Your Life with Mantra Prayer first published by Tree of Life Publishing, 2014)
• An Ordinary Life Transformed: Lessons for Everyone from the Bhagavad Gita, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2021. (first published by Hobblebush Books, 2006)
• The Call of the Mourning Dove: How Sacred Sound Awakens Mystical Unity, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2019.
• Living the Prayer of Jesus: A Study of the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic, Wipf and StockPublishers, 2019. (first published by Tree of Life Publishing, 2012)
• The Interfaith Worship Manual: The Resource for Creating Interfaith Worship Services, Tree of Life Publishing, 2012.