Ruth Ann Harnisch
Ruth Ann Harnisch has always been a pioneer. Her ceiling-shattering career as a media personality in Nashville, TN was, in many ways, the catalyst for nearly 5 decades of patronage. Two of those decades are encapsulated in the Harnisch Foundation which she created with her husband Bill Harnisch in 1998. Retired from journalism, Ruth Ann she now splits her time between work with the foundation and her pro bono practice. While you may have a tough time grabbing ahold of her Awesome Cape, which flies along the coast between the Hamptons and the Bahamas, the shimmer of her philanthropy can be seen far and wide.
A “recovering journalist,” Ruth Ann started out as a teen deejay in her native Buffalo, NY. Her media career spanned three decades and includes Emmy-nominated television reporting, becoming the first woman to anchor Nashville, TN’s CBS-TV affiliate, hosting a daily talk-radio program on WLAC-AM, and 17 years as a columnist for the Nashville Banner.
After retiring from journalism, Ruth Ann chaired the board of More Than Money, a national nonprofit assisting top wealth-holders in “putting their money where their values are”. The organization’s coaching program piqued her interest in the emerging field and, before long, she had joined the International Coach Federation and the International Association of Coaching. Ruth Ann went on to serve on IAC’s Board of Governors, the board of the Thomas J. Leonard Foundation, and to co-found both The Foundation of Coaching and The Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Her deep belief in the power of professional coaching also drove her to become an IAC Master Certified professional coach herself.
Ruth Ann’s other philanthropic endeavors include serving on Sigma Delta Chi Foundation’s Board of Trustees and joining a myriad organizations including: the International Women’s Forum, Rachel’s Network, the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences, the Radio and Television News Directors Association, American Women in Radio and Television, the Buffalo Broadcasters Association, Women Donors Network and Women Moving Millions. She is a lifetime member of the Broadcasters Foundation and an enthusiastic patron of TED.
Recently described as the “the punk rock fairy godmother of feminism,” Ruth Ann splits her time between her pro bono practice and her work with the Harnisch Foundation. While you may have a tough time grabbing ahold of her Awesome Cape, which flies along the coast between the Hamptons and the Bahamas, the shimmer of her philanthropy can be seen far and wide. She is married to William F. Harnisch, President and CEO of Peconic Partners, an investment management firm with offices in New York City and Long Island, and co-founder of the Harnisch Foundation.
