about
Rosie Forrest is the community strategist with The HOW Institute for Society; a global nonprofit, HOW is dedicated to the advancement, education, and practice of moral leadership across industries, “making a wave” of leaders who implement moral leadership practices such as “seeing the humanity in everyone,” and “acting with courage” as part of their everyday roles and responsibilities. Rosie has spent more than 20 years in education and community building spaces, developing innovative programs for all ages that spark creative problem-solving, connection, and belonging. Prior to HOW, Rosie served as part of the leadership team with OZ Arts Nashville, overseeing contemporary arts programming and community partnerships between OZ Arts and the Greater Nashville area. Other leadership roles include assistant director of Vanderbilt Programs for Talented Youth, interim creative writing director for Interlochen Center for the Arts summer programs, and literary manager/dramaturg for Chicago theatre institutions, including Northlight Theatre and Steppenwolf Theater Company. Rosie took part in Metro Nashville Arts Commission’s Racial Equity in Arts Leadership (REAL) 2021 cohort, and the NXT-GEN Fellowship for Moral Leadership in 2022. Alongside her formal leadership roles, Rosie was a member of the Metro Nashville Public Schools STEAM Advisory Committee and continues to volunteer as a digital crisis counselor for The Trevor Project, supporting LGBTQ youth. Rosie attended the University of Virginia and received her MFA in creative writing from the University of New Hampshire.
"And then something else happens, a thing that still makes my heart rise in my chest and eyes blur, even in recollection. For it turns out there’s something even more affecting than watching the sun disappear into a hole. Watching the sun climb out of it."