INDIANAPOLIS, IN, June 07, 2018 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Rita Kohn with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Ms. Kohn celebrates many years' experience in her professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in her field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Although no longer teaching after dedicating nearly 60 years to the field, Ms. Kohn, a writer, playwright and current newspaper journalist for the NUVO newspaper, is completing "The Story of Brewing in Indianapolis." A social history, the book talks about how beer was the only beverage that was safe to drink when people came to the new territory in the 18th century and how brewing has become a significant contributor to the culture of Indianapolis. Ms. Kohn also is working with Indianapolis Ballet to debut "Macunchis and William: A Story of Love and Disillusion," to debut in 2020, to mark the 200th anniversary of the forced removal of the Delaware People from Indiana.
Affiliated with a number of projects and a handful of wonderful organizations during her career, Ms. Kohn was the coordinator of the Always A River: The Ohio River and the American Experience Project through the Indiana Humanities Council with six other Humanities Councils and the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH), co-founder of DIVAFest Indianapolis in 2010 and coordinator of the Rivers, Roads, Rails Project through the Indiana Arts Commission and Arts Council of Indianapolis in 2005. Ms. Kohn also co-founded Heartland Theatre in Normal-Bloomington, IL in 1986. She served as an editor, columnist and feature writer for various magazines and newsletters and did consultant work in her field.
Ms. Kohn authored several picture books, including "Spring Planting," "Celebrating Summer," "Fall Gathering" and "Winter Storytime," co-produced a documentary called "Long Journey Home: Delaware Indians of Indiana" on PBS in 2003, which won a regional Emmy Award, and published [with photographs by James W. Brown] "Long Journey Home: Oral Histories of Delaware Indians" in 2007, which received a Society of Professional Journalists Best Nonfiction Award in 2008. She is also a recognized playwright for several plays, including winner of the first Indianapolis Phoenix Theatre FEAT [Festival of Emerging American Theatre Award] in 1984. Her publications and documentaries also have been recognized with awards from National Federation of Press Women. She has been a contributing writer for The Dramatist, Pointe!, Dance Critics Association Journal, Dance Library Association Journal and Indiana Living Green. She has been a contributing writer for exploredance.com since 2009, and will contribute to the Brewers Association online journal starting Fall 2018.
Earning a Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, at Buffalo State College in 1955 and Master of Science at Illinois State University in 1968, Ms. Kohn is a certified teacher in the state of New York. She taught at Tonawanda Junior High School fresh out of college between 1955 and 1956, and then accepted a position at the Metcalf Laboratory School, where she taught for a total of six years. Beginning her career in academia, Mrs. Kohn accepted her first position at Illinois State University, where she spent five years and then served as the director of marketing on campus for another three years. She then briefly served as the director of continuing education at Butler University before spending the remainder of her career as an adjunct professor of journalism at Indiana University from 1984 to 2013.
A longstanding member of several professional organizations, including the Authors Guild, the Dramatists Guild and Dance Critics Association; she co-founded the Indiana Theatre Association [now defunct], Ms. Kohn has also been involved with her local community as a member and volunteer with the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation since 1983 along with the Indiana Repertory Theatre, the Phoenix Theatre and the Civic Theatre in Indianapolis. In Normal, IL she served as a precinct committeeman and assistant committeeman for the Democratic Party from the 1960s to the 1980s.
The recipient of the Eli Lilly Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indiana Historical Society in 2016, a Sagamore of the Wabash Award by the State of Indiana in 2004, named to the Alumni Hall of Fame by the College of Education at Illinois State University in 2003, and honored with an Individual Artist Award by the Indiana Arts Commission, among others, Ms. Kohn also received a Land Salzburg Research Grant in 1982 and an Indiana Humanities Council and NEH Grant in 2001. Furthermore, she has been included in more than a dozen editions of Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Women and Who's Who in American Education. Married for more than 40 years to her husband Walter S.G. Kohn until his passing, Ms. Kohn has three children and enjoys volunteering, reading, traveling and working in her garden.
In recognition of outstanding contributions to her profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, Rita Kohn has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor.
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America®, Who's Who in the World®, Who's Who in American Law®, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare®, Who's Who in Science and Engineering®, and Who's Who in Asia®. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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