Rita’s love of literacy began                                    during her young years                                           and led to a long career in education, that included time as a classroom teacher in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, fifteen years as a reading specialist in Central Bucks, and seven years (part-time) as an adjunct at Gwynedd-Mercy. She received both a bachelor’s and master's degree from Gwynedd-Mercy University. A native of Philadelphia, Rita and her husband currently reside in Bucks County.

To enhance her personal writing and as well as the writing of her students, Rita became a Writing Fellow in the Pennsylvania Writing and Literacy Project in 2004. As a retiree, Rita joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and is a recent member of the Pearl S. Buck House Writers Guild.

Although she enjoys writing, Rita’s large family is her primary passion. She has been married to her husband, Mike, for fifty-two years and they enjoy their five adult children and their spouses, as well as their eleven grandchildren. Motherhood and grandparenting provide the fodder for much of her writing. After experiencing many significant life moments, Rita began to write gift poems to give voice to the deep emotions of these events.

“Words matter, and I believe sharing our feelings with others is the ultimate gift. To me, poetry is the language of love, and it is always a good time to present someone with a special poem. It’s an honor to share my heartfelt verse with you, and I hope that you find the perfect poem for someone you love.”

In addition to gift poems, Rita writes stories for children, personal narratives, a blog to help parents support literacy development, www.helpurchildread.com, and crafts personalized poems upon request.