Rita is a graduate student in the Master of Environmental Science and Management (MESM) program at URI. Through her studies Rita seeks to combine visual communications and scientific analysis. Working with PhD. candidate Peter Stempel, Rita researches how visual design is used to communicate the implications of sea level rise. Her focus is in Environmental Planning and Design and she is simultaneously pursuing a graduate certificate in GIS and Remote Sensing.

As the recipient of the Metcalf Institute Science Communications Fellowship Rita draws on her prior career in marketing to produce communications materials for the College of the Environment and Life Sciences at URI.

Rita graduated magna cum laude from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a B.S. in Environmental Sciences, a concentration in Toxicology and Chemistry, and a minor in Biology.

After moving from her hometown in Kington, Massachusetts to Cranston, RI, Rita imparted her fascination with the natural world upon the youth of Rhode Island. She worked as an Environmental Educator for AmeriCorps, Save the Bay- Narragansett Bay, and the Audubon Society of Rhode Island. Rita is passionate about the outdoors and is an avid hiker, backpacker, and rock climber.