Julie Ratner, Ed.D.

Charity Partner

Julie Ratner is the co-founder and chairwoman of The Ellen Hermanson Foundation, a breast cancer charity she and her sister Emily Levin started in 1996. Named in honor of their sister Ellen who died of breast cancer at the age of 42 in 1995, the foundation has distributed more than $5 million in grants, most of which have stayed on the East End of Long Island; the focal point of the foundation’s fund-raising efforts. The Ellen Hermanson Foundation has been recognized for its support of medically underserved breast cancer patients and survivors, and in keeping with its mission, funded The Ellen Hermanson Breast Center at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. Providing state of the art diagnostics and treatment protocols, no one is turned away due to a lack of medical insurance or ability to pay for medical care. In 2000, the foundation created Ellen’s Well, a program, administered by Southampton Hospital that provides psychosocial support services free of charge to breast cancer survivors and their families. The profound vision of Ellen’s Well is that women cannot only survive breast cancer, they can thrive.

Before creating the foundation, Ratner worked for 15 years as a school librarian at the Brearley School and at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School in New York City. With a passion for education and working with students, Ratner enrolled in the Department of Higher and Adult Education at Teachers College Columbia University in 1990. She earned her Doctorate in Education in 1996 writing her dissertation on academic dishonesty and moral development.

Currently Julie is serving on the Board of American Friends of Soroka Medical Center, the advisory council of Integrity First for American and Combatants for Peace. She is also a member of Eleanor’s Legacy and Tri-State Women’s Leadership Council.