Rita Anita Linger was born and raised in the “melting pot” of New York City on the lower east-side of Manhattan. She has been responsible for directing social justice, human relations, diversity, and community development initiatives around sustainable communities and eradication of poverty and violence for thirty years. She is also responsible for building awareness and finding solutions around improved clinical encounters in healthcare for two decades. She currently serves as the President/CEO of SERA, Inc. (Southeast Raleigh Assembly, Inc.) SERA, Inc.’s mission is to enhance the quality of life for the residents of Southeast Raleigh.
SERA, Inc. focus areas include: Community Capacity Building, Public Safety, Business/Equity, Health & Wellbeing, Developing the Entrepreneurial Spirit, Youth Empowerment and Housing. Mrs. Linger formerly served as the Executive Director of the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a statewide organization which provides support services to local domestic violence agencies and allied professionals. She was also responsible for founding a Social Justice, Leadership, Community Development, and Authentic Wellbeing project called, “Center for Emergent Capabilities.” She has served as the Arizona Supreme Court’s Funding administrator for ADR and Parent Education Programs, and has been responsible for launching several non-profits and creating sustainable funding streams for them.
Rita Anita believes in using person-centered processes to identify, cultivate and synthesize capabilities within human systems for professional and personal success. She believes as her favorite humanist and psychologist, Abraham Maslow posits “People’s capabilities clamor to be used, and without those capabilities being realized, the person can atrophy, and disappear – diminishing him/her forever.” To that end, Mrs. Linger works to bring the best of people including youth to their own awareness, ultimately causing them to self generate authentic, humanistic and synergistic relationships amongst and between people in the workplace and their wider community; experiencing leadership in a way that will create solutions for seemingly intractable issues, and help positively change and sustain human environments and communities.