Dr. Donna Fontanarose Rabuck
Birthday: 1954
Dr. Donna Fontanarose Rabuck is a writer teacher administrator independent feminist scholar and women's ritual leader. Focusing on literature women's studies and writing she received her Doctor of Philosophy degree from Rutgers University in 1990. Donna's service to peace justice and equality is a guiding force in her life. For over 25 years she has served as the Assistant Director of the Writing Skills Improvement Program (WSIP) at the University of Arizona. Her office provides professional writing tutoring to underrepresented students; i.e.minority and first generation college students as well as students receiving academic and financial scholarships and students directly referred by their teachers. The program also offers writing workshops a high school outreach program - the Summer Institute for Writing and a Graduate Writing Institute which Donna directs. She received the UA Staff Award for Excellence for her service to the program in 1999. Donna's commitment to quality academic support as a cornerstone of equal access to and success in higher education is unwavering. Thousands of students have benefited from the services WSIP provides. An equally important commitment and passion of Donna's is to women's spirituality and feminist scholarship. When she was completing her graduate degree Donna joined a women's circle at a local church and discovered the power of women's spirituality and goddess archetypes to nurture and inspire women. Using her academic training she reexamined the Greek myths and did extensive research in the fields of archeology history psychology and western literature as well as eastern studies yoga native studies and the wise woman tradition. In 1994 Donna opened the Center for the Sacred Feminine. For the past 15 years she has created and nurtured a supportive women's spirituality community in Tucson Arizona. Her inspirational teaching style encourages women to explore and discover a unique feminine-centered practice of spirituality. Donna leads bimonthly women's circles seasonal playshops and Spring and Fall Retreats. Donna also does private consulting publishes a newsletter a calendar and The WomanSpirit Guide a bibliography. (See http://centerforsacredfeminine.com for more information.) She is the author of many works in the fields of women's studies writing and women's spirituality. Jennifer Roche who co-nominated Donna for this honor says of her: Donna has such a passion for her work and is dedicated to sharing all that she has discovered through her diligent research. She has a gift for creating a setting in which to settle in listen laugh and reflect with compassion the importance of all our stories those who have gone before and those stories yet to come. We are so very lucky to have her here! Dr. Jo C. Searles who co-nominated Donna for this honor says of her: Donna is an extraordinary woman--a rare combination of focused scholar compassionate counselor and spiritual leader. She is both practical and magical relaxed and intense knowledgeable and searching humorous and profound--and her Center a sanctuary for women of all ages and beliefs. In short she is a potent force for the Divine Feminine's possibilities in us all--and she laughs a lot too!