Rita is the mother of an adult son with intellectual disabilities and has been a strong advocate for him during his entire public school education.

She has a 30-year work history in both non-profit and for-profit companies. Her experience stretches from public relations, human resources and project management to strategic planning and continuous improvement.

She worked as the Director of Administrative Services for the YWCA of Elkhart County in Indiana. In that capacity she was responsible for membership, coordinating a two million dollar Capital Campaign, grant writing and human resources. She was part of the management team and worked closely with the Board of Directors and other local United Way funded organizations.

She also worked over 10 years in positions of increasing responsibility for Bayer Corporation, both in Indiana and RTP, North Carolina. She worked in Human Resources, Strategic Planning, and on several Merger & Acquisition projects. Her last position was Manager Executive Administration, reporting directly to the Chairman of the Board and CEO of Talecris Biotherapeutics Inc., a large international biotech company with approx. 5000 employees. As a member of the executive management committee, she had many opportunities to learn from great leaders in the industry and finance world.

Rita received her degree in Business/Administration from Fachhochschule fuer Wirtschaft (Business College) in Cologne, Germany. She also took extensive coursework in Human Resources at Indiana University, South Bend, and numerous continuous education classes in a variety of fields.