Ellen Ratner Biography
Judy Jarvis Award-winning author and reporter, Ellen Ratner is a regular Fox News contributor and a frequent guest speaker, who is mostly known for her appearance on The Long and Short of It, and The Strategy Room. Currently, Ratner is working for Talk Media News as their White House Correspondent and Bureau Chief.
Early Life & Education
Ratner was born in Ohio, Cleveland on 20th June 1950. She grew up along with two brothers Bruce Ratner, an NYC-based developer, and Michael Ratner, a human rights attorney. Ratner went to Goddard College in Cleveland, and she later gained her Master’s degree in Education from Havard University.
Early Career
In 1971, Ratner joined South Shore Mental Center in Quincy, Massachusetts, where she used to work at the mental health center. Then, Ratner became the Director of the Psychiatric Day Treatment Program at South Shore Mental Center in Quincy, Massachusetts. She worked there around six years until 1986.
During her time at South Shore Mental Centre, she joined the Addiction Recovery Corporation (ARC) as a Consultant on Program Development in 1984. From 1985 to 1991, Ratner served as Vice-President of Research, Development, and Service at the ARC and as Director of its Research Foundation.
Besides that, she also developed a customer service program for nine treatment centers owned by Addiction Recovery Corporation. She served as principal investigator for a research study, determining treatment outcome factors in alcoholism and chemical dependency treatment. Working with Professor Regina Herzlinger, Ms. Ratner wrote a case study of Addiction Recovery Corporation for students at Harvard Business School.
The Talk Radio News Service
In 1993. Ellen Ratner worked the White House Correspondent and Bureau Chief for The Talk Radio News Service, where she has covered the White House and provided exclusive reports to talk radio stations from the Congress and government agencies. She worked there until 2015.
Ellen Ratner at The Talk Radio News Service Source: 1420 WBSM
Current Work
Ratner is a news analyst on The Fox News Channel. She has seen on “The Strategy Room” and is heard on over 400 radio stations across the United States. She was the only talk show host granted two interviews with President Bill Clinton.
Ratner is also the political editor and Washington bureau chief for Talkers Magazine, the “bible” of the talk media industry. In her capacity as political editor of Talkers Magazine, she helped to develop the concept of “radio rows” with the first large one held at the White House in 1993.
Ellen Ratner at studio Fox News Channel
Source: YouTube
In addition, she has trained many groups in use of radio, television and Internet media. From the talk media industry, she has received the Judy Jarvis Award as Woman of the Year and was recently honored with the Henry Gruenwald Public Service Award from Lighthouse International for her community service work.
Books
Ratner wrote the book named The Other Side of the Family: A Book for Recovery from Abuse, Incest, and Neglect published by Health Communications in 1990. In February 1997, Ratner published “101 Ways to Get Your Progressive Ideas on Talk Radio,” published by National Press Books and Talkers Magazine. Ready, Set, Talk! A Guide to Getting Your Message Heard by Millions on Talk Radio, Talk Television, and Talk the Internet (2006). In 2011, she co-authored Self Empowerment: Nine Things the 19th Century Can Teach Us About Living in the 21st.
Other Credits
She was executive producer of “Voices from Mississippi” which won the New York Festival’s radio award for the talk radio interview/special category in 2006. With Cholene Espinoza, Ratner has been developing a post-Katrina community center and public swimming pool in Pass Christian-DeLisle, Mississippi. The Marsha Barbour Center pool is the first part of the project opened in 2009. It is the first public swimming pool in a thirty-mile radius built since segregation ended.
Ratner was a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow from 1998-2001. Ratner also serves as the chair of the marketing committee for Lighthouse International in New York City. In the past, she has served on the Board of Trustees of Goddard College.
Personal Life
Ellen Ratner is openly lesbian/gay and is married to Cholene Espinoza in 2004, whom she met in 2002. Espinoza was the Air Force U-2 spy plane pilot and as of now, she works as a commercial pilot for United Airlines. Espinoza never discussed her lesbianism while she was in Iraq, but since the publication of her book, she realized it’s not an issue for the soldiers with whom she is still in touch.
Ellen Ratner (left) and her partner Cholene Espinoza (right) with Charles “the BF” Francis, in 2007
Source: Band of Thebes
Ratner believes that enabling straight and gay people to get to know each other and be present in each other’s lives, families and communities is a key to overcoming homophobia in society. Work like this is opening doors, opening people’s hearts to the diversity of all kinds.” “Gay people need to be effective communicators in non-gay organizations so people will be exposed to gay people,” she advises. “Be involved as human beings in the fabric of our communities, as well as in gay organizations.”
Net Worth
Ellen Ratner’s has an estimated net worth of $1 million. Her main income flos from her various honourable positions like political analyst and a journalist for Fox News, the Washington Bureau Chief for Talkers magazine and from writting
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