Rood, who had not seen the success she hoped for to prepare for this year's women's Football World Cup in France, said the club's style of play didn't suit an attacking brand of football.
"Even when I was playing, I didn't really get the opportunity to show my strengths in the attacking third.
"Both the club and I felt that the opportunity to play 90 minutes each week somewhere else would benefit me a lot in the lead-up to the World Cup."
Rood had previously been in talks with Lewes before signing with Bristol and, after the signing of former Premier League coach Fran Alonso, she was sold on the idea of playing under a passionate coach.
"The team has had a tough run of results and a lot of change in recent months but I think it's a great place for me to come in and contribute as much as possible."
She commended her new club's system of equal pay as a shining light in a far from equal sporting culture.
"Inequality is something so ingrained in society that it's almost laughable to think that female footballers would or could ever earn the same as their male counterparts.
"The reality is that until clubs are willing to invest resources and finances into their female athletes then we will never be afforded the opportunity to develop at the rate we are capable of."
Rood said the the knock-on effect was huge in terms of media exposure, access to facilities, and life stresses outside of football.
"Lewes FC, in my eyes, are simply doing the right thing. They are not a big club with a massive budget but one day they could be and I'm confident they will keep their values at the forefront of everything they do."
With World Cup selection not far away, Rood will need to prove she can find the back of the net to make herself invaluable to the Ferns' setup.
"All my focus is on being in the best form possible come the World Cup and doing whatever it takes each day to be moving towards that goal.
"It's the little things that happen day-to-day that I need to keep on top of because I want to help the Football Ferns go further than they ever have before."
Rood was recently selected as part of the Football Ferns squad to take on Australia, Argentina and Korea Republic in the Cup of Nations in Australia at the end of February. After the controvesy involving ex-Ferns coach Andreas Heraf and the shake-up within NZ Football, Rood hoped she could be one of the leaders to guide her team out of a messy and uncomfortable period.
"I have a lot of admiration for the players and staff that put themselves on the firing line and did what they believed to be the right thing to do even though it was incredibly difficult at times.
"To get someone with the depth of knowledge and experience as Tom Sermanni in charge of the team is fantastic and I'm confident that football in New Zealand will continue to benefit from this long term."
The Ferns take on Australia in their first game on February 28 at 9.30pm (NZ time).
