Kathie Regan Russo is the director of corporate and donor relations at The Fund for American Studies (TFAS). She came to TFAS with a diverse background in the public and private sectors. Her Washington experience includes positions in Ronald Reagan’s 1976 and 1980 presidential campaigns; serving as an associate director in the Office of Presidential Personnel in the Reagan White House; and working for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jack Kemp. She especially values her time with the Reagan campaign, since it was then that she met her husband, Paul Russo. When President Reagan appointed Paul to be the ambassador to Barbados and the eastern Caribbean, Kathie spent the next two years utilizing her position as an ambassadorial spouse to initiate community-outreach programs, such as a regional anti-drug campaign in the elementary schools and raising support for the Barbados Special Olympics team.
Upon returning to the U.S., Kathie worked in the private sector and the nonprofit field. She is particularly proud of her time as director of marketing and development for Wakefield Country Day School, where she was able to have a positive impact on the students, staff and faculty by increasing the school’s presence in the community and advancing its reputation, revamping administrative practices, increasing the school’s donor base, and establishing new scholarships. Her most treasured role, though, is as a mother to two grown daughters, Allison and Katherine.
Kathie grew up in New York and Florida and attended Georgetown University. She is an equestrian fan, German Shepherd lover and oil-painting enthusiast, and she splits her time between Washington, D.C., and bucolic Rappahannock County, Virginia. She is happy to have a role with TFAS, helping to inspire a new generation of leaders to go out and make a difference in the world. She is impressed that TFAS students remain open-minded, strive for civil discourse, and respect differing viewpoints, even while showing passion for their own values and opinions.