Diana Rauner

Diana Mendley Rauner, Ph.D., learned early from her parents the importance of participating in the community. As a young adult, Diana spent time volunteering at a settlement house in New York to help teach ex-offenders to read. After witnessing the education inequities in our country first-hand, she realized this was an issue she wanted to focus on long term. Today, Diana serves as President of Start Early (formerly known as the Ounce), based in Chicago with impact across the country. Diana joined Start Early staff in 2007 and was appointed president in January 2011, having previously served as a board member. Prior to joining Start Early, Diana was a senior research associate at Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago and an associate at private equity firms in San Francisco and Chicago. She and her husband, Bruce, are the proud parents of six children and grandparents of Ella.