Ruth Hardy

Ruth Ellen Hardy^[1][2] was born in the Tompkins County area of New York circa 1970, a daughter of Robert B. Hardy Jr. and Miriam (Smith) Hardy.^[3] Robert Hardy (1930-2005) was a graduate of Cornell University and Cornell Law School, and he served for more than thirty years as an Administrative Law Judge for the New York State Department of Labor.^[3] Ruth Hardy was raised and educated in Tompkins County and is a 1988 graduate of Dryden High School in Dryden, New York.^[4][5][6]

Hardy received a Bachelor of Arts degree in government from Oberlin College in 1992^[5][7] and in 1996 she received a Master of Public Affairs degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.^[5][8] She was a fiscal analyst for the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau and specialized in education issues.^[5] Hardy moved to East Middlebury, Vermont in 2002.^[5]

After relocating to Vermont, Hardy served as executive director of the Open Door Clinic in Middlebury, Vermont.^[5] In addition, she worked as assistant budget director at Middlebury College, and director of government grants at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.^[5] She also served as executive director of Emerge Vermont, which recruits and trains women to run for public office.^[5]

Hardy served three terms on Middlebury-area school boards and was chairwoman of Middlebury's Mary Hogan School Board, co-chairwoman of the Addison Central Supervisory Union Unification Charter Committee, and Chair of the Addison Central School District Finance Committee.^[5] She is a graduate of the Snelling Center's Vermont Leadership Institute.^[5]

In early 2018, incumbent Democrat Claire D. Ayer announced that she would not be a candidate for reelection to the Vermont Senate in the two-member at-large Addison County Senate District.^[5] Hardy announced her candidacy in May.^[5] In the November general election, Hardy and incumbent Democrat Christopher Bray were the top two finishers.^[9]

At the start of her Senate term, Hardy was appointed to the Committees on Education and Agriculture, and was named clerk of the Agriculture Committee.^[5] In addition, she was named to the Senate's special panel on sexual harassment and the Joint Committee on Judicial Retention.^[5] She has been re-elected three times in 2020, 2022, and 2024. She currently serves on the Finance Committee and Natural Resources and Energy Committee.

In 1997, Hardy married Jason Mittell, professor of Film & Media at Middlebury College.^[1][5] They are the parents of three children.^[5]

• "Wedding Announcement, Ruth Ellen Hardy-Jason S. Mittell". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, NY. October 18, 1997. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
• "Empire State Scholarships and Regents Scholarships". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, NY. June 2, 1988. p. 4A – via Newspapers.com.
• "Obituary, Robert B. Hardy Jr". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, NY. December 22, 2005. p. 15.
• Norton, Kit (November 6, 2018). "Democrat Ruth Hardy claims open Addison Senate seat". VT Digger. Montpelier, VT.
• "Meet the LBJ alumni running for office in 2018". Texas LBJ School. Austin, TX. November 6, 2018.

• Bloomer, John H. Jr. (February 21, 2019). "Journal of the Joint Assembly" (PDF). Legislature.vermont.gov. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Joint Assembly. p. 4.
• "Oberlin College – Class of 1992 – 25th Reunion Photo" (PDF). Oberlin.edu. Oberlin, OH: Oberlin College. May 2017. p. 1. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
• Hardy, Ruth (May 25, 2018). "Launching My Campaign: Community Organizing & Creating Change". Ruth For Vermont.com. East Middlebury, VT: Ruth Hardy for Vermont Senate. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
• "Biography, Senator Ruth Hardy". 2025-2026 Session. Montpelier, VT: Vermont General Assembly. 2025. Retrieved September 18, 2025.