WOMEN WHO INSPIRE
Ivy Hartman Hutchinson
Fueled by Multiple Interests
By Vi c k i B e n n i n g t o n
W
hen Ivy Hartman Hutchinson sat down in her
first master’s counseling class, she knew she
had found her true calling.
That’s not to say she doesn’t love her other
endeavors, including hosting and producing
various programs at STL TV, and emceeing large charity events with
her auctioneer-husband, banking executive Kirk Hutchinson.
She grew up in Brentwood, California, a small farming town
that reminds her of the Midwest. She earned a degree in mass
communications with an emphasis in broadcasting from California
State University East Bay, and in l999, moved to St. Louis, garnering
her first break in television with an ABC affiliate in Columbia, Missouri.
“When I came to St. Louis, I was in search of love, and work in the
television industry,” she said.
Fortunately, she found both.
Returning to St. Louis from Columbia, it was while working as a
manager at a local bank that she fell in love and got married, and landed
the job at STL TV (online at stltv.net, Charter channel 992 and U-Verse
channel 99).
“The door really opened for me after I was hired at STL TV,”
Hutchinson said.
She grew up acting in musicals and community theater, and said that
she felt her role as a television host was a safe way of continuing the
performing aspect of her life.
Hutchinson produced and hosted the Mid-America Emmy-nominated
“Pathways to Healing,” a series of shows that ran on STL TV, dealing with
domestic violence, including interviews with survivors, and one episode
with a former abuser, who is now a domestic abuse counselor.
“I recently suggested we rerun those episodes because they are very
powerful, and so relevant,” she said.
Some of her TV career highlights include an interview with Gloria
Steinem in 2011, when Steinem was the keynote speaker at the annual
Women Presidents’ Organization conference.
“It was somewhat intimidating to meet someone whose work had
such an effect on me,” Hutchinson said. “She made me think I could do
anything I wanted to do.”
At STL TV, she co-hosted St. Louis’ first one-hour live television
show, “Best of the STL,” that ran for 13 years.
“We interviewed local celebrities and had a live band, as well as a
cooking segment with a live studio audience,” Hutchinson said. “I met
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some really cool people and learned about some great local restaurants.”
Some of the most memorable moments of the show were interviewing
Ozzie Smith (and his son, Niko), Maxine Clark of Build-a-Bear, Smash
(radio host), Murphy Lee of the St. Lunatics, and many more.
“I interviewed Glenn Close when she was in town promoting mental
health awareness, and that aired on STL TV,” Hutchinson recalled, “and
I did an interview with Steve Forbes – you talk about a down-to-earth
person! Wow!”
She admits she has had a lot of great opportunities working with
some of the city’s most remarkable people and experiencing St. Louis
in a first-hand way.
For a few years, on the weekends, Hutchinson even tried her hand at
an Improv club, a totally different type of performing.
Her first stint in the education field was as a college admissions counselor
at Stephens College in Columbia. Later, while substitute teaching, a friend
told her about an opening at Rockwood High School, where she began
working part time. She returned to college and graduated from University
of Missouri-St. Louis with a master’s of education in counseling, then
transitioned into a full-time college and career counselor at Rockwood.
There, she provides students with in-depth college and career advice, and
counseling for first-generation college-bound students.
She spread her wings further to include a position as adjunct professor
at UMSL, where she designed a master’s-level, elective counseling class,
that has been used as a model for other counselor education programs
across the state.
“I think education was in my blood,” she said, “and I knew I could do
it, and do it well. My mom is an educator, and has always been a strong
influence in my life.”
But she believes her experience as a reporter and broadcaster,
interviewing people, etc., built skills that assist her in her role as a
counselor. And her creative side makes her a good problem solver.
“The legacy I hope to leave is that I was a bridge or ‘safe person’ for
the students,” she said.
Her goal is to make them feel like they have a connection to the school,
and to help them transition to the next step in their lives. As a certified
counselor, she can also help students with crisis intervention and those
who have mental health or personal issues impeding their progress.
Hutchinson is president of the Missouri Career Development
Association, and is a strong advocate of women’s rights, human rights
and education, and is passionate about social justice and equity in the