Rachel Rosekind, PhD

The items below enumerate some of the professional positions and responsibilities I’ve held. But like most stories, this one is marked as much by omission as it is by inclusion. If you were able to read between the lines, you would see that most of my work lies behind the scenes. At root, my life has revolved around advancing social justice, racial equity, and community inclusion. Its branches have served to amplify underrepresented voices in print and to elevate marginalized individuals to positions of power and underserved communities to the centers of social and political concern.

I seek to advance equity agendas and expand the multiplicity of voices in institutional spaces, civic forums, print culture, and individual consciousness. Please reach out if you see opportunities where I can be impactful in these domains.

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RACHEL ROSEKIND, PhD

rosekindness@gmail.com                                                                                    www.writeyouare.net

 EDUCATION

San Jose State University, San Jose, CA

MLIS, December 2016

Focus on social justice and radical reference; public and school libraries; readers advisory; innovative community engagement, library services, and platforms; and information literacy, equity, and ethics

Yale University, New Haven, CT

Dual PhD, African American Studies and American Studies, 2006

Between the Country House and the Kitchenette: Literary Excavations of Space and Self in the Work of Henry James and Gwendolyn Brooks. Advisor: Hazel V. Carby

M.Phil., Honors, African American Studies and American Studies, 2003

M.A., Honors, African American Studies and American Studies, 2001

New York University, New York, NY

B.A., Summa Cum Laude, Literature and Social Theory, 1997

Focus on the navigation of public, urban, and political space as represented and defined in literature and the visual and applied arts.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Founder, Write You Are!                                                                                                                                                                             

2015–Present

  • Run independent business providing writing instruction & coaching, content creation, writing workshops, college & graduate school consulting, and editorial services throughout the country

Data Lead and Content Editor, San Jose State University, School of Information

November 2019–Present                                            

  • Work as primary point person for 25+ team members and 125+ faculty to strategize, mine, streamline, and synthesize significant amounts of data to support the iSchool’s reaccreditation process and final report submission.
  • Assist with editing content and layout of accreditation report

Independent Editor

2000–Present                                                                                                                                               

  • Work with individual and institutional clients to develop and refine manuscripts of all kinds
  • Specialize in developmental, substantive, academic, and line editing
  • Broad range of expertise in academic editing, including monographs, dissertations, theses, articles, and other nonfiction material
  • Extensive background in many literary genres and forms, including poetry, novels, novellas, short stories, and essays
  • Create content for corporate reports, factbooks, presentations, blogs, and websites
  • Help research and write grant proposals for a varied client base; have secured funding from arts organizations, governmental entities, private foundations, and others

Research Intern, Wikimedia Foundation                                                                                                      

January 2016–September 2016

  • Research the intersection between and application of Wikimedia projects to: cultural preservation and knowledge dissemination in the developing world; academic, public, research and special collections libraries; information literacy instruction; and innovative technological platforms
  • Design and tag a Zotero bibliographic collection to collocate and disambiguate the data
  • Write a comprehensive literature review documenting the evolution of Wikipedia’s role in information literacy frameworks and instruction throughout the world.

Research Intern, African American Museum & Library at Oakland

April 2016–May 2017

  • Research and create a bibliographic digital archive chronicling the history of Blacks in Oakland after World War Two.

Research Assistant to African American Studies Department Chair, Yale University  

January 2001–May 2006

  • Assisted Department Chair with personal research, preparation and editing of conference papers and journal articles, and creation of course syllabi
  • Planned “African American Studies and Yale: Revisiting Origins, Imagining Futures,” held in May 2002; organized conference panels, designed publicity materials and commemorative brochure; wrote and published historical and photographic essay documenting the history of Yale’s African American Studies department

Lead Organizer, “Langston Hughes and His World” International Conference, Yale University          

March 2001–October 2002

  • Drafted grant proposal and budget narrative to Ford Foundation outlining plans for international conference to celebrate centenary of Hughes’s birth
  • Secured $100,000 from Ford Foundation and $15,000 from Yale’s Kempf Memorial Fund
  • Tracked expenses and prepared budget reports for grantmaking institutions
  • Liaised with Yale’s Office of Printing and Publishing Services, the President’s Office, Beinecke Rare Books & Manuscripts Library, Grants & Contracts, and multiple academic departments to facilitate collaboration and communication
  • Prepared website content and all publicity materials, brochures, and souvenirs for event
  • Helped plan and execute all conference activities, including: library exhibition, film screening, panel discussions, meals, book signings, music, and theatrical performance
  • Coordinated travel plans and lodging arrangements for conference speakers
  • Partnered with publishing house and performed outreach to local public schools to organize reading, musical performance, and large book donation to school libraries and classrooms

Tutor and Summer Program Instructor, Central Falls Public Schools, Rhode Island

December 2004–March 2006

  • Assisted 9th-12th grade students with class assignments and helped to build study habits and writing skills
  • Wrote grant to secure funds from Central Falls School Department to lead summer course for “at-risk” middle school students
  • Created and led month-long program to build literacy and math skills

Development Associate, Providence Public Schools                                                                              September 1998–June 1999

  • Researched and identified potential funding sources and helped to compose and edit grant proposals
  • Met with local nonprofits, corporations, and other grant-making and grant-receiving entities to identity priorities, benchmarks, and partnership opportunities
  • Major projects include grants to provide the following: literacy resources and instruction, expanded afterschool programs, and technological innovation

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Founder/Educator, Write You Are!                                                                                                                                                                         2015–Present

  • Lead group classes and workshops at community centers, libraries, and other locations
  • Inspire students and clients through discussions of exemplary poetry and prose, exciting writing prompts, and thoughtful individualized feedback
  • Provide private writing coaching to youth, teens, and adults to discuss and hone craft and to generate, refine, and discuss works-in-progress

English Teacher, 9th & 11th Grade, Honors, Crystal Springs Uplands School                                                                             

August 2007–March 2009

  • Collaborated with colleagues to select materials for year-long survey courses in world and American literature
  • Instructed students in grammar, close reading, research, academic writing, and historical interpretation of literary texts
  • Maintained website for students and parents to keep abreast of course materials
  • Served as 9th Grade advisor

Teaching Fellow, “Formation of Modern American Culture,” Yale University                                                              

Spring 2003, 2004

  • Led weekly discussion sections engaging students in dialogue about 20th century American cultural history
  • Graded weekly response papers and 2 longer essays
  • Collaborated with fellow instructors to present multimedia materials and other dynamic learning opportunities to students

Instructor, “Black Literature and the Urban Environment,” Yale University                                                          Fall 2003

  • Designed new interdisciplinary course for African American Studies Department based on dissertation research and teaching interests
  • Met weekly with students to present and discuss course materials
  • Facilitated and led students on historical walking tour of Harlem

Teaching Fellow, “Modern African American Literature,” Yale University                                                         

Spring 2003, Fall 2002

  • Worked with Professor and co-fellow to draft syllabus and to select notable writers to serve as guest lecturers
  • Led weekly discussion sections exploring new voices in African American literature
  • Graded close reading exercises and research papers

Senior Essay Advisor, Department of American Studies, Yale University                                           

Fall 2004–Spring 2005

  • Nominated for position by American Studies department faculty
  • Met individually with students to help select and refine senior essay topics; devise research strategies; and draft and edit essays
  • Led group tutorials on brainstorming, information literacy strategies, writing and revision process, and bibliographic instruction

 Afro-American Studies Teaching Assistant and Writing Advisor, Wesleyan University                               

Fall 2002–Fall 2003                                    

  • Met individually with 60 students on a weekly basis to discuss course materials, devise paper topics, and refine drafts

FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS

  • Finalist, May 2019: National Parks Arts Residency, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
  • Alameda County Library Library Lit Contest February 2019: Winner, “Souls of My Feet”
  • John F. Enders Fund Summer Fellowship for Dissertation Writing and Research, 2005
  • University Dissertation Fellowship, Susan Rhoda Cutler Fellowship Fund, 2004-2005
  • John Perry Miller Fellowship, Summer 2003
  • Mellon Fellowship in Gender History, Harvard University, Summer 2002

 PUBLICATIONS AND DISTINCTIONS

  • “Making Our Words Matter: Reawakening the Radical Imagination, unpublished. 2019.
  • A History of African Americans in Oakland, California: an Annotated Bibliography, prepared for the African American Museum and Library at Oakland, AY 2016-2017
  • “Data Retrieval, Information Literacy, and Knowledge Synthesis in the Age of Wikipedia: a Framework for Partnership and Progression.” Wiki site: Summer 2016
  • “Using a Compass without a Map: the Journey of a Mother-Educator.” Hybrid Pedagogy, 10 May 2016, http://www.digitalpedagogylab.com/hybridped/using-a-compass-without-a-map/
  • Nourishing our Children and our World through Stories: a Book List that Promotes Awareness and Affirmation of Self, Others, and the Natural World, January 2016
  • Review of Selling the Race: Culture, Community, and Black Chicago, 1940-1955, by Adam Green, Economic History Review, 60 (November 2007): 862-864.

RECENT PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS

Collage Poetry Mashup for Families. 4/24/2020. Berkeley Public Library, Central Branch, California

Canceled due to Coronavirus.

Collage Poetry Mashup for Families. 4/22/2020. Hercules Public Library, California

Canceled due to Coronavirus.

Tweens & Teens Creative Writing Meet-Up: Poetry. 4/14/20. El Cerrito Public Library, California. Canceled due to Coronavirus.

Picture Poems: a Workshop for the “Insiders Group.” 2/27/20. Hercules Public Library, California

Tweens & Teens Creative Writing Meet-Up: What is Love?. 2/11/2020. El Cerrito Public Library, California

“Writing Strategies and Success for Homeschooled Families.” 2/1/2020. Invited Talk, Bay Area Homeschool Moms Group.

Family Learning Sundays. 1/5/2020. Providence Public Library, Rhode Island

Flash! Fiction Workshop: a NaNoWriMo Event. 11/16/2019. Berkeley Public Library, North Branch, California

Spooky Stories Writing Workshop. 10/23/2019. El Cerrito Public Library, California

Write Your Way to Outer Space!: a Pre-Summer Reading Workshop. 5/21/2019. El Cerrito Public Library, California

Write Your Way to Outer Space!: a Pre-Summer Reading Workshop. 5/9/2019. Hercules Public Library, California

National Poetry Month: Collage Poetry Mashup. 4/27/2019. Berkeley Public Library, West Branch, California

Try Your Hand at Creative Writing: a Workshop for All Ages. 2/27/2019. Albany Public Library, California

Creative Writing for Young People. 12/9/2018. Albany Public Library, California 

WORKS IN PROGRESS

  • Fierce Illumination: Elemental Revelations and Unravelings
  • “Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong with the Way She Moves”: The Experience and Influence of Women in the Grateful Dead
  • Flight of the Beautiful Days: A Chronicle of the Radical Women Who Ignited Bay Area Social and Cultural Movements
  • An Apprentice to Words: Why I Write, Why I Teach
  • Ivy Grows in the Garden of Eden: A Branch Leaves a Family Tree

SELECTED CURRENT SERVICE ROLES

  • Community Advisory Council member, Berkeley Farmers’ Markets, Berkeley, CA
  • Contra Costa County Library Commissioner, Supervisorial District 1, CA
  • Contra Costa Library Foundation Organizing Committee Member
  • Independent Publishers of New England (IPNE) Book Awards Judge
  • Miriam Braverman Memorial Prize Jury, Progressive Librarians Guild
  • Extensive mentorship and pro bono assistance for under-resourced organizations and individuals

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

  • American Copyediting Society
  • Association of Writers & Writing Programs
  • Bay Area Editors Forum
  • Editorial Freelancers Association, National & Bay Area chapter member