Recognizing the Heroes Within

Presented by Rita Paskowitz

As a rostered artist for the Nebraska Arts Council and Doane College’s Arts Are Basic, Rita has edified and entertained audiences around the state. She has taught in the College of Education and the Certified Public Managers™ Program at UNO – as well as in UNMC’s Great Plains Public Health Leadership Institute. Rita has been involved with TEDx Omaha as a two-time presenter as well as a Speaker Coach. She has worked with Lutheran Family Services, training refugees to share their stories for the organization’s Speakers’ Bureau and leading community groups through simulated refugee escape journeys. At Ted E. Bear Hollow (a center for grieving children and their families), Rita has been the Storyteller in Residence and a trainer for those interested in group facilitation. She also co-founded and was the Theater/Storytelling Facilitator for Creative Healing, a unique program for processing grief through the arts.

Rita is Co-Director of the national project, Public Service Stories: Ask Me Why I Care, and Director/Facilitator for The Creative Workshop, a weekly arts program at the Siena/Francis House/Miracles Treatment Center (currently on Covid break). She has been found at Joslyn Art Museum engaging crowds with PICTURE THIS! – her program to connect museum-goers with works of art through story. She is currently the Creativity Mentor for Opera Omaha’s Outreach Fellows and is working with Habitat for Humanity to build its own Speakers Bureau. This nationally-known Storyteller is also a Keynote Speaker and Workshop Leader for a variety of business, healthcare, educational, religious, and social organizations.

And yes, her hair is real.