Rishia Haas is an American recovery specialist, beekeeper, educator, and former administrative professional from Minnesota. She became widely known through her marriage to chef, author, and television host Andrew Zimmern. However, her own life includes meaningful work in addiction recovery, university bee programmes, retail operations, education, and scientific fieldwork.
She has also used the name Rishia Zimmern in professional settings. This was her married name, and she continued using it after divorce. Records linked with Augsburg University, the University of Minnesota, and her recovery work show that both names belong to the same person.
Her private lifestyle has caused confusion online, especially about her birth date, parents, wealth, and personal life. Stronger records create a clearer picture.
Rishia Haas Age and Early Life
An official Minnesota legislative publication dated March 1995 identified Rishia Haas as 21 years old. This places her birth between March 1973 and March 1974. In August 2026, she is therefore 52 or 53 years old. Rishia grew up in Champlin, Minnesota, and attended Anoka High School before studying in Minneapolis.
Rishia Haas Parents and Sibling
Official Minnesota records identify her father as William “Bill” Haas and her mother as Joenie Haas. They had two children: Rishia and her younger brother, Grahamm.
Father Bill Haas
Bill Haas was a businessman, local leader, and Minnesota state representative. He owned an employee benefits brokerage and consulting company. Before joining the state legislature, he spent eight years on the Champlin Parks and Recreation Commission.
He became mayor of Champlin in 1984 and served until 1992. In 1994, he won election to Minnesota House District 48A. His political priorities included lower government spending, business growth, local control, welfare reform, public safety, and reduced health care costs.
Bill enjoyed fishing, hunting, hiking, skiing, and fly tying. Andrew Zimmern once described him as his father-in-law and praised his skill at catching walleye. That direct statement creates a firm connection between the Haas family and Andrew’s former wife.
Mother and Brother
Joenie Haas is named as Bill’s wife. Details about her career remain private. Grahamm Haas was 18 in March 1995, making him nearly three years younger than Rishia. He has also remained outside public attention.
Education at Augsburg University
Rishia studied at Augsburg University, formerly called Augsburg College, from September 1995 to May 1998. Her studies focused on business management or business administration, with a specialisation in international business and work in management information systems. This education supported her later roles in administration, recovery services, university programmes, events, training, and retail management.
Rishia Haas Career in Recovery Services
A major part of her career involves addiction recovery support. She formerly worked as an administrative assistant at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, one of the best-known treatment organisations in the United States. Other accounts connect her with The Retreat, a Minnesota recovery centre, where her duties involved admissions and support services. These roles placed her close to people and families facing addiction.
In February 2020, she began working as a recovery specialist. Her professional heading describes her as a peer recovery coach who also assists with transport. Peer recovery coaches use training, experience, and structured support to help people continue their recovery journey.
Recovery Certification
She earned a Nationally Certified Peer Recovery Support Specialist credential in March 2020. The credential carried identification number 15126 and an expiry date of May 2026.
Beekeeping at the University of Minnesota
Rishia joined the University of Minnesota as a part-time beekeeper in April 2017. Her work was connected with the Bee Lab and Bee Squad in Saint Paul. The Bee Squad supports homes, companies, schools, veterans, and community groups through hive care and education. Its Hive-to-Bottle programme provides bees, equipment, and training.
Main Duties
Her responsibilities included managing customer hives, caring for bee colonies, maintaining equipment, extracting honey, supporting food-safe cleaning systems, and helping new workers learn their roles. She also assisted with Bee Veterans, outreach events, undergraduate classes, on-site apiaries, and Beekeeping in Northern Climates courses. Her position combined physical work, science, customer service, education, and community engagement.
An official Bee Lab social media post from November 2024 named Rishia as a Bee Squad team member, supporting her long-term connection with the university programme.
Scientific Contribution
Rishia Zimmern received co-author credit on a 2025 study involving viruses in western honey bees and eastern bumblebees. The work connected her with the University of Minnesota Department of Entomology. Her contribution included investigation and study methods. This credit shows that her beekeeping role included serious scientific support, not only routine hive care.
Work at Wisdom Gaming
From April 2022 to October 2023, she worked part-time at Wisdom Gaming in Bloomington, Minnesota. Her title was Lead Retail Curator and Client Event Coordinator. She managed merchandise, created displays, trained employees, organised inventory, supported photo shoots, helped run client events, and maintained venue spaces. The role showed her strength in organisation, leadership, training, and customer care.
Marriage to Andrew Zimmern
Rishia Haas met Andrew Zimmern before he became a major television figure. They met in Minnesota when Andrew was teaching at a cooking school and she worked at a nearby store connected with the school. They married in 2002. Their relationship began during a rebuilding period in Andrew’s life, after his struggles with addiction and homelessness. She knew him before programmes such as Bizarre Foods made him internationally famous. Andrew’s work as a chef, producer, writer, and television host required long periods of travel and filming. That schedule later created pressure within the marriage.
Rishia Haas Children
Rishia and Andrew have one son, Noah Zimmern, born in 2005. During Noah’s childhood, the family received support from the Washburn Center for Children. Rishia later spoke about the value of family help, community care, and access to mental health support. She and Andrew also supported the centre through charitable involvement and advocacy.
Separation and Divorce
The couple’s separation became known in 2018 after about sixteen years of marriage. Andrew accepted responsibility for many problems and explained that constant travel kept him away from his wife and son. The divorce was completed between late 2018 and early 2020. The exact legal date and financial terms have not been shared. Rishia has not confirmed a new husband or partner. Her present relationship status is private. She continues to use the surname Zimmern in parts of her professional life.
Rishia Haas Nationality and Personal Life
Rishia Haas is American. Her life has remained closely tied to Minnesota, including Champlin, Anoka, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Bloomington, and Edina. She attended public events with Andrew but mainly focused on work, family, recovery support, and service. Her connection with food is also known through Rishia Zimmern’s Chicken with Shallots, a dish valued by home cooks for its simple method and rich flavour.
Rishia Haas Net Worth
Her personal net worth has never been confirmed through dependable financial evidence. Claims of three million or five million dollars have no clear support. Her income may have come from recovery work, university employment, administration, event coordination, and other roles. The financial terms of her divorce remain private. Any exact wealth figure is speculation.
Does Rishia Haas Have a Wikipedia Page?
Rishia Haas does not have a dedicated Wikipedia page. She is connected with Andrew Zimmern’s biography through their former marriage and their son. Her work in recovery services, bee education, community programmes, and science gives her an identity beyond celebrity marriage.
Final Thoughts on Rishia Haas
Rishia Haas has lived a varied and meaningful life shaped by family, education, service, and practical work. She is the daughter of former Minnesota legislator Bill Haas, the former wife of Andrew Zimmern, and the mother of Noah Zimmern. Her path has included business studies, administrative duties, peer recovery support, beekeeping, teaching, science, events, and charity work. She has chosen privacy while continuing to contribute to important causes.
Her story is not simply about marriage to a famous chef. It is also about resilience, skilled work, community care, and a steady commitment to helping both people and the natural world.
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