Ric Harris Joins Board of Directors At Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters

Ric Harris, the President and General Manager of NBC Connecticut/WVIT, the NBC-owned station based in West Hartford, has recently been appointed to the Board of Directors at Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters, the state's premier youth mentoring organization. The announcement was made by Andy Fleischmann, Nutmeg's President and CEO.

"We are very fortunate that Ric Harris has agreed to serve on our Board of Directors," said Fleischmann. "His concern for children in need, his business skills, his energy, and enthusiasm and commitment will be invaluable assets to Nutmeg as we work to make mentors available to more and more children in the 111 municipalities across Connecticut we serve. The staff and Board join me in welcoming Ric. We all very much look forward to working with him."

"I'm absolutely thrilled to join the Board at Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters," said Harris. "Providing tools and enabling dreams is a personal passion when it comes to youth development. I'm looking forward to working with Andy Fleischmann and the Board as we make a difference in the lives of youths around the state of Connecticut."

Mr. Harris has more than 25 years of multiplatform media experience, the majority spent in general management and advertising sales leadership roles. He also has experience with mentoring, having worked with the iMentor program in New York before moving to Connecticut.

Harris was promoted to President and General Manager of NBC Connecticut in May 2013, after serving as Vice President of Sales. He joined the station from Accenture, where he was manager of Communications, Media and Technology. Previously he was Vice President of Digital Ad Sales for BET Interactive from 2008-2009. Before that, Harris served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Digital Media and Strategic Marketing for NBC-Owned Television Stations from 2005-2007.

From 2000 to 2005, Harris led WEWS, the ABC affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio as its Vice President and General Manager and was previously the General Sales Manager. He started his media career at the station as a Local Sales Account Executive. Harris also worked in sales roles at WOIO and WUAB, the CBS and UPN duopoly in Cleveland, and at Petry Television in Los Angeles.

Harris received a master's degree in Communications Management and a bachelor's degree in Communications and English from John Carroll University. He's a member of a number of professional organizations, including the Interactive Advertising Bureau's Digital Video Committee, the Connecticut Broadcasters Association, and the Connecticut Region's Red Cross Blood Services.

For more on Nutmeg, go to: www.nutmegbigbrothersbigsisters.org.