Ruth Ann Har

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Ruth Ann founded the Harnisch Foundation in 1998, not only fully aware of the unfairness that allows families of wealth to shelter income from taxes but also determined to make the best use of this advantage. (Neither she nor any family member is on the Foundation’s payroll.) She’s a traitor to her economic class by working to end her own tax breaks. In the meantime, she purposes herself to use this privilege on behalf of others.

Prior to her philanthropic focus, Ruth Ann’s multimedia career in Nashville,TN allowed her to break a few glass ceilings. She was a television news reporter and anchor (fun fact, Oprah was her cubicle neighbor at CBS affiliate WTVF-TV), radio talk show host (WLAC-AM), OpEd Columnist and newspaper feature writer (Nashville Banner). This work taught her how public policy affected everyday lives and the fate of the world. Her days and nights on those jobs were a constant adventure in discovering what can go wrong in the world (and how people can prevent, fix, and/or reverse wrongness). She learned there were many ways to create social change.

One sure way to influence change is to apply money. So when Ruth Ann and Bill Harnisch married (and his generosity added personal financial resources to her tools of influence), TheHF was born. Millions of dollars and thousands of grants later, she’s grateful for the opportunity to make a difference in the causes she cares about most. Because she’s been sensitive to systems of inequality throughout her life, her philanthropic interests lean toward creating a fairer world for everyone, especially those who don’t benefit from a world built to serve white straight cis able-bodied men.

Outside of the foundation, Ruth Ann is a private investor with a portfolio that includes women-led startups. Ruth Ann invests both personal and philanthropic capital in content creation, including feature films, documentaries, series, and other media that advance social causes and explore topics of important public interest, often in partnership with other funders including Impact Partners. Her documentary films have been shortlisted for (Unrest), nominated for (The Hunting Ground), and won (Icarus, Best Documentary Feature, 2017) Oscar consideration.

Ruth Ann is also a professional certified coach. She has an active pro bono practice coaching “people who are up to something big in the world,” skills that also inform her volunteer service as a trained Crisis Text Line crisis counselor. Ruth Ann is a member of the Women Donors Network, Women Moving Millions, Rachel’s Network (environmental funders), the International Women’s Forum (Tennessee and New York City Forums), the Women at Sundance Leadership Council, and the Leadership Nashville Alumni Association. If you see her bouncing around the Zoom chat, she’s getting in those Fitbit steps. And because she’s over 70 she’ll be wearing a mask wherever she’s working on dismantling patriarchal white supremacy.