Ruth Yellowhawk was a community-centered radio journalist and storyteller who worked with the Kettering Foundation from 1997 to 2010. Her belief in inclusion and equity was demonstrated through her work in public radio, research, restorative justice, and education. The Ruth Yellowhawk Fellowship is awarded to practitioners, community leaders, and/or scholars whose work focuses on the history, experiences, and contributions of Native and Indigenous Americans to democracy in the US. The Kettering board of directors created the fellowship in 2010 to honor the work of Ruth Yellowhawk (1960–2010), a Dayton-based community-centered radio host and storyteller who worked with the foundation from 1997 to 2010. Recipients of the Ruth Yellowhawk Fellowship are selected by the president of the Kettering Foundation in consultation with the senior leadership team.

Ruth Yellowhawk, also known as Taho Kahwoka Win, meaning “Woman Whose Voice is in the Air,” was an Ohioan of Wyandot, Huron, and German ancestry. From 1984 to 1996, she was the program director and an on-air host at WYSO, Dayton’s public radio station. In 1996, Yellowhawk and her family moved to the Black Hills of South Dakota, embracing a lifestyle closer to their Native American roots. There, she was cofounder and codirector of the Indigenous Issues Forums and was tireless in her efforts to educate and advocate for Native American decision-making practices. She served as vice president of the Center for Restorative Justice, a community-based organization working to create resolutions between criminals and victims. She was a mentor of youth and a coach to professional women and was also a participant in a sustained dialogue on racism in South Dakota.