Early life and education
Born in 1956 and raised in New York City,Harris became interested in public service in high school at Ethical Culture Fieldston School in Riverdale,where she volunteered in then Congressman Ed Koch’s office. [6]
In 1977,Harris graduated from Franklin &Marshall College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government. Franklin and Marshall's Harris Center for Business,Government,and Public Policy was donated in her name in 2009,and she has served on the college's Board of Trustees since 2006. [7]
Career
In 1977,Harris began her public service career as an assistant to Congressman Koch. Upon Koch's election as Mayor,she became an Assistant to the deputy mayor in 1979,and subsequently was appointed Assistant to the mayor for Federal Affairs. From 1983 to 1990,she served as executive director of the City's Art Commission. [1]
Following her work with the Koch Administration,Harris served as vice president for Public Relations at Serino Coyne Advertising before joining Bloomberg LP in 1994,where she managed Bloomberg LP's Philanthropy,Public Relations,and Governmental Affairs divisions. [1] Harris is generally credited with introducing founder Michael Bloomberg to the worlds of art and philanthropy. [8]
Harris joined Michael Bloomberg's administration when he was elected mayor in 2001,serving first as deputy mayor for administration from 2002 to 2005 and then as first deputy mayor from 2006 to 2013. Harris was the first woman in New York City's history to serve as first deputy mayor. Harris is known as a key trusted adviser to Bloomberg,and she weighs in on every major policy or personnel decision. [6]
According to Kevin Sheekey,whom Harris hired at Bloomberg LP in 1997 and who served as campaign manager when Bloomberg ran for president in 2020,"...almost anything that Mike has done in the political or philanthropic sector,you can trace its roots back somewhere to a Patti Harris origin." [9]
Harris has been included on Crain's Business New York list of the most powerful women in New York City every year since the list began in 2011 [10] [11] [12] and,according to a New York Times profile,she was the most powerful person in the Bloomberg administration. [6]
Harris currently serves as the chief executive officer of Bloomberg Philanthropies,and she is the only person to serve in the role. [13] The organization was set up by Michael Bloomberg who has pledged to give away all his wealth. [14] [2] From her position leading the foundation,Harris oversees Bloomberg's philanthropic giving,which he values as a key component of his legacy. Michael Bloomberg has been identified as one of the top five largest donors in America since 2015 and over the course of his lifetime,as of February 2023,has donated $14.4 billion. [15] [2] [16]
In a 2018 profile,speaking of Harris's role at Bloomberg Philanthropies,Bloomberg said "Patti is the foundation." [17] As of 2016,she is listed as the 87th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes and she appeared in the 2019 Politico Playbook Power List [18] [3]
In addition to serving on the board of trustees for her alma mater Franklin and Marshall College,Harris is a trustee of the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City and a board member of both the Perelman Performing Arts Center and the Public Art Fund. [19] [20] [21]
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