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| Ruth Ann Harnisch |
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Ruth Ann Harnisch is a journalist and philanthropist who describes herself as a Thrillionaire — someone who knows the thrill of giving. President of the Harnisch Family Foundation, Chair Emerita of the Board of Directors of More Than Money (a national nonprofit dedicated to helping people put their money where their values are), on the editorial advisory board of the quarterly More Than Money Journal, and founder of The Dignitarian Dialogues (www.digdi.com), she has appeared on talk shows across the country discussing the "Radical Rich" as a representative of More Than Money. Her creative philanthropy has landed her on "Oprah" and "The Today Show." Ms. Harnisch founded The Dignitarian Dialogues after meeting Robert Fuller, former president of Oberlin College and author of Somebodies and Nobodies, a book about "rankism" that dares to imagine a dignitarian world: one in which everyone in a hierarchy is treated with dignity, regardless of rank. When we treat people of different ranks with equal dignity, we help to overcome the abuse of rank, or "rankism," just as we help overcome racism by treating people of different races with equal dignity. Rankism is defined as abuse, discrimination or exploitation based on rank. "Dignitarian" is an adjective describing a condition in which the dignity of all people is protected and honored. The goal of The Dignitarian Dialogues is to gain visibility for the important dialogue stimulated by author Fuller's ideas. In The Dignitarian Dialogues, Ms. Harnisch brings her journalistic and broadcasting experience to the fore, devising creative strategies to increase public awareness and promoting common usage of the words "rankism" and "dignitarian" in everyday conversation and inclusion in dictionaries. She purchased 20,000 copies of the book for widespread distribution. In partnership with Bookcrossing.com, each copy she has distributed has been registered for participation in "bookcrossing," the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise. Copies have been given to members of special interest groups, with an eye toward starting provocative conversations around the world among leaders and word lovers. She has invited talk show hosts to discuss rankism and The Dignitarian Society, offering free copies of Somebodies and Nobodies to the hosts and their listeners. The reason this former talk show host is devoted to this unique form of "book evangelism": "I'm doing this because I believe there's no better way to start a conversation that can change the world." Ruth Ann's journalism career started when she hosted her first radio talk show as a teen in 1965 on WYSL-FM in her native Buffalo, NY. She spent nearly three decades in media work, including Emmy-nominated television reporting and anchoring at the CBS-TV affiliate in Nashville, TN, WTVF-TV (CBS), a daily talk-radio program on WLAC-AM, and 17 years as a columnist for the Nashville Banner. She retired in 1988, turning her skills and resources to creative philanthropy and board service. Ruth Ann Harnisch is honored with a Dalton Pen "Impacting Our World" Award for her creative, "out of the box" strategies to promulgate an idea through the culture. She has ingeniously harnessed her philanthropy, her knowledge of the journalistic and broadcasting worlds (which include the Internet) and has begun a new type of dialogue, sure to stimulate us all to think about a world that is more just and humane.
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