Keeping up with Rye’s new city clerk, Noga Ruttenberg, is no easy task. She’s always one stroke and many steps ahead of the pack. Turns out she swam for Middlebury College and has competed in at least a dozen Ironman Triathlons. She would have kept up her swimming, but after college she moved to Manhattan, where access to a pool is limited.

After moving to Rye 19 years ago, she remembers watching the athletes in the Westchester Triathlon racing out of Rye Town Park and realizing she wanted to inten- sify her training. With a friend, she opened a training studio in Port Chester.

It was through training that Ruttenberg met and befriend-ed Rye’s longtime Corporation Counsel, Kristen Wilson.

When Ruttenberg applied for an entry-level position — secretary to the city manager — six years ago, she was more than qualified. “I met the criteria,” she said modestly. Ruttenberg received an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business, which she put to good use as a management consultant in the private sec- tor and as a senior manager of operations and product development at American Express.

While she loved being in the business world, she didn’t love the commute to Wall Street. After having her second child, she decided she needed a job closer to home and one with shorter hours, Ruttenberg said last week in an interview in City Hall, which is one mile from her home.

Ruttenberg’s first boss at City Hall was Marcus Serrano, who quickly promoted her to assistant to the city manager. His successor, Greg Usry, promoted her to the unfilled position of assistant city manager and expanded her responsibilities. “Marcus and Greg were always supportive, and I learned a great deal under their tutelage,” she said.

Since Feb. 12, her first day as city clerk, Ruttenberg has been on a fast-track learning curve.

“I have already learned more Rye history than I knew after my first 18 years in town!” said Ruttenberg, who hails from Hartford, Connecticut; her husband Devon grew up in Pittsburgh.

Ruttenberg is excited to have the opportunity to bring positive change — by updating the City Code, for one. She also looks forward to her official duties, among them swearing in new staff, registering voters, marrying couples, and giving out permits and licenses of all kinds. “You meet so many people in this job,” she said with a smile.

The Clerk’s Office is the first one you’re likely to walk into when you enter City Hall from the Village Green. “Along with Victoria Robinson and Kayla Garritano, who work along- side me, I’m now the ‘face’ of City Hall,” said Ruttenberg. “I try and welcome everyone who walks in with the same warmth that Councilman Bill Henderson offered me my first day on the job.”

The last few weeks have been a wonderful whirlwind for Ruttenberg, who possesses the endurance of a long-distance runner and an uncanny ability to look on the bright side. She is quick to share, “I look forward to coming to work every day because I love the people who work here and the people who serve as volunteers.”

When we called back to check a fact, she added to her story. Not only is her son graduating from college this year, but her daughter just got word that she was accepted by her first-choice college.