RyeGPT People of Note: Policy Advisor Zelia Krumbhaar Peet Ruebhausen
RyeGPT People of Note is a series highlighting individuals who have a connection to the City of Rye. In the series we ask OpenAI’s ChatGPT to prepare a biography and explain the individual’s connection to Rye.
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Today, meet policy advisor Zelia Krumbhaar Peet Ruebhausen.
Zelia Krumbhaar Peet Ruebhausen (1914 – January 24, 1990) was an American civic leader and policy advisor, recognized for her extensive volunteer work and contributions to public policy.
Early Life and Education
Born in Rye, New York, Zelia was the daughter of William Creighton Peet and Meta Brevoort Potts Peet. She was named after her paternal grandmother, Emma Zelia Krumbhaar Peet. She and her twin brother were the youngest of five children in their family. Zelia attended Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and graduated from Vassar College in 1937.
Career and Civic Engagement
Throughout her life, Zelia held numerous volunteer positions on advisory committees, councils, and executive boards. During World War II, she served as the private secretary to an Assistant Secretary of the Navy. She conducted research for the Spelman Fund and the National Association of Manufacturers. In 1957, she was the only woman on the World Trade Advisory Committee of the U.S. Department of Commerce. She also served on the Advisory Committee on Africa of the U.S. Department of State and was a consultant to the Council on Foreign Relations from 1967 to 1970. From 1972 to 1977, she was a member of the New York City Charter Revision Commission. Zelia led the Women’s Africa Committee and served on the board of trustees of the African-American Institute. She was also active with the International House of New York and served on the Board of Overseers at the New School for Social Research’s Center for New York City Affairs.
In 1946, the League of Women Voters appointed Zelia as an official observer at the United Nations. She represented the League before Congress on multiple occasions and was an officer of the Foundation for Citizens Education and Women United for the United Nations.
Personal Life
In 1942, Zelia married lawyer Oscar M. Ruebhausen, who served as president of the New York City Bar Association and was a longtime advisor to Nelson Rockefeller. She passed away in 1990 at the age of 75 in Rancho Santa Fe, California, due to ovarian cancer. In her memory, Yale University established the Zelia P. Ruebhausen Student Fund.
