Ruth Ann Harnisch is President of The Harnisch Foundation, which has given grants to hundreds of not-for-profit organizations since its founding in 1998. She was the founding funder of the Coaching Commons, and the Commons continues to be a project of The Harnisch Foundation.
Ruth Ann is a proponent of creative philanthropy whose unusual charitable investments have landed her on Oprah and the Today show. Ruth Ann encourages people to discover the thrill of giving money, time, skills, ideas and other assets to the causes they care about, and shares their stories on www.thrillionaires.org.
Ruth Ann is a “recovering journalist.” Starting out as a teen deejay in her native Buffalo, NY, she spent three decades in media work, including Emmy-nominated television reporting and anchoring at the CBS-TV affiliate in Nashville, TN, a daily talk-radio program on WLAC-AM, and 17 years as a columnist for the Nashville Banner.
After retiring from her journalism career, she chaired the board of More Than Money, a national nonprofit assisting top wealth-holders to put their money where their values are. That organization’s coaching program inspired Ruth Ann to learn about the emerging field of professional coaching.
She joined the International Coach Federation and the International Association of Coaches. Ruth Ann is currently a member of the ICF Foundation Board. She served on the Board of Governors of the IAC as well as the board of the Thomas J. Leonard Foundation. She became a Co-Founder of The Foundation of Coaching in order to create the independent resource for coaching information she had sought nearly a decade ago. Ruth Ann served on the board of the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the Society of Professional Journalists (of which she has been a member for over 30 years).
She is a member of the Women Donors Network, 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, and is a lifetime member of the Broadcasters Foundation.
Ruth Ann is an IAC certified professional coach. In her pro bono practice, Ruth Ann has been a thinking partner to authors, scientists, executives, performers, and other dynamic individuals.
Ruth Ann says, “I work every day to apply my money and my moxie to the biggest problem in the world – untapped capacity. In my coaching, my grant-making, and my donor activities and organizations, I want to help people discover how much they’ve got and how to make the most of it for themselves and for others.”
Ruth Ann Harnisch 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.
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