Rita Rodriguez

Outreach Project Associate

Rita Rodriguez was born in California of Mexican origin.  She lived in the center state of Guanajuato, México for nine years and moved to Omaha in 1998 where she graduated from high school and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in communication arts from Bellevue University.  She currently serves as an Outreach Project Associate for the Center for Reducing Health Disparities within the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska.  Her focus is on tobacco prevention and control within the Latino community in the metro Omaha area.

Rita is involved in many community projects through her role as an Outreach Project Associate including hosting an educational television show in Spanish aired once a month on Thursday from 5:00 -5:30pm at COX, Channel 22 and as a co-host of an educational radio show in Spanish aired every other month on Saturday mornings from 9:00 -10:00 am on 97.7FM, Radio Lobo. Rita also currently serves as Secretary of MOTAC, the Metro Omaha Tobacco Action Coalition.

Rita has worked in the community at various organizations within the Latino community including: La Casa del Pueblo, South Omaha Arts Institute, and the Salvation Army Kroc Center.   From June 2009 to October 2010, Rita was part of the Omaha Lead Superfund Site, a project coordinated by the Environmental Protection Agency. She worked for a local contractor to conduct soil cleanup and lead-based paint stabilization activities.

Rita has determined that working with the Latino community on health related issues is a path she would like to pursue further as a career.