Lowcountry Food Bank Announces Harriet P. McDougal Board Room Unveiling

Ms. McDougal has been a loyal supporter of Lowcountry Food Bank since 2008. She chose to make a gift that will help the organization feed thousands of neighbors who continue to face food insecurity. Lowcountry Food Bank named its Board Room in honor of Ms. McDougal and her generous gift, and held a board room unveiling last week with her family, friends, Lowcountry Food Bank board members and staff in attendance.

Ms. McDougal has supported many philanthropic causes and organizations throughout her lifetime, particularly those that improve health, education and opportunity for women, children, and underserved communities. She has supported numerous literacy-focused philanthropic organizations and women’s reproductive health initiatives. She supported Metanoia and the South Carolina Community Loan Fund in the wake of the Mother Emmanuel AME Church shootings. In November, 2015, Ms. McDougal received the Jerry Zucker Lifetime Achievement Award for leaving her mark for positive change in the Lowcountry. She has been cited as a major force in community.

She is the editor and initiator of the best-selling fantasy books “The Wheel of Time” written by her husband, James Oliver Rigney, Jr., pen name Robert Jordan, and many other historical fiction titles. Ms. McDougal, a writer, editor, television consulting producer, and Charleston native, continues to live in her Charleston childhood home. She attended Ashley Hall and received the Headmistress’ Award upon graduation in 1956. She attended Wellesley College, then transferred to Harvard-Radcliffe and graduated with a degree in English in 1960. She lived and worked in New York City as an editor while she was married to her first husband and for the birth of her son in 1968. She returned to Charleston in 1977 after her father died, following her mother’s death the year before. She met James Rigney the following year, published his first book, and they married in 1981. Her father was a rear admiral in the US Navy during World War II.

When once asked why she gives and supports her community, Ms. Dougal said, “I don’t know how not to.”

To learn more about Lowcountry Food Bank and its mission to lead the fight against hunger, visit our website at lowcountryfoodbank.org.