Sheila Rittenberg

About Sheila Rittenberg

I retired as a nonprofit leader in 2019 and dove into creative writing with a passion. I became a member of a weekly writing critique workshop, and a Fellow at Atheneum, a master writing program at The Attic Institute in Portland, Oregon. I am co-founder of the Stepping Stones Fiction Writing Retreat. I write short stories and flash creative nonfiction, and have a “practice novel” living in my computer. My first published piece is forthcoming in The Bluebird Word journal. I recently completed a documentary film called MARDA\'S GIFT, The film reveals how one woman can change people\'s lives through teaching the art of baking. MARDA\'S GIFT has played at film festivals (award winner, too!0 and on two PBS channels as well as PBS.ORG. I led the launch of the Pediatric Dermatology Research Alliance (PeDRA) as a consultant and then served as its Executive Director from 20••••19. Including and prior to PeDRA, I worked in the health and medical research field (dermatology) for 17 years in institutional fundraising, advocacy and as an Executive Director. Prior, I worked in public broadcasting raising funds for documentary productions and in my early career, was a community organizer and a social planner, which involved working with cities and regional governments to design effective health, education and recreation services.

Experience

1. Documentary Film Executive Producer & Author

   Marda\'s Gift Film

   Dec 2019 — Present

   I am Executive Producer of MARDA\'S GIFT, a documentary film about helping people go from burn-out to fulfilling a passion. It is the story of one woman from a town in Central Oregon who has a global impact from her small, home-based teaching kitchen. Empowering people to be who they want to be is Marda Stoliar’s gift – and it’s all achieved through the unlikely craft of baking. To produce this documentary, we are in fundraising mode! Please consider contributing to make the film a reality. As a project of the Charitable Partnership Fund, MARDA\'S GIFT will issue tax-deductible receipts for contributions. To donate, please visit: mardafil.com/donate.

Education

• Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University), Montreal, Quebec, Canada

  Bachelor of Arts - BA