Rebecca Vitsmun is an author, speaker, and community advocate living in Tacoma, Washington.
A Letterman in mathematics, Rebecca began her university math studies in Calculus IV and Differential Equations. She graduated with Honors from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a Bachelor of General Studies in Arts and Humanities focused on Comparative Religion. During the course of her studies, Rebecca became a Phi Beta Delta inductee for distinguishing herself academically in English.
After decades of service and a Sandy Nininger Award recipient, Rebecca was the creator, coordinator, and original team leader of Humanist Disaster Recovery Teams, the first national humanist disaster volunteer network, for which she received multiple awards including Humanist Visionary in 2015. The program ran through 2022.
Rebecca was the author and creative director of children’s picture book Eliza Dee’s Universes, an accoladed work designed to bring awareness of autistic hyperphantasia and inspire creative imagination. This book was illustrated by Victoria Mikki and published by Hypatia Press.
Rebecca has spoken at national conferences in the areas of disaster recovery and hidden disability, and has been a guest on podcasts, YouTube channels, and radio programs. In 2024, she was a speaker for the American Humanist Association’s 84th Annual Conference in 2024.
Rebecca enjoys hiking, low-dex games, creating, and volunteering in her local community.