Board & Staff

Who is Rita Zimmer?

Rita Zimmer has spent her professional career working on behalf of women and families to support them in overcoming poverty, homelessness, mental health and substance use illnesses, the effects of incarceration and trauma. A woman in recovery for over fifty years she knows the importance of being part of a caring community.

First as the founder of Win (Women In Need) in 1983 serving as its first executive director until 2000. Win set a standard of how to treat women, gender expansive individuals, children and families; especially that any housing had to be safe, in neighborhoods with services nearby and with plenty of spaces for programs.

Volunteering at upstate correctional facilities and listening to women’s stories it wasn’t long before she knew what was next. She founded HousingPlus in 2001 as a Housing First model establishing housing with services for women and families unhoused,with a disabling situation, and impacted by the criminal justice system. In 2017 HousingPlus  launched JusticeWorks, with three housing partners, eventually opening 161 housing units throughout the city as an Alternative to Detention at Rikers. Since then over 1000 women have been released to one of the Justice Works housing partner agencies; getting needed services, reuniting with their children and loved ones then moving back into the community with permanent housing. This work led to co-founding the Women’s Community Justice Association in 2018 to advocate for women in jail or prison and permanently get women out of Rikers.

Rita has a Master’s in Public Health from NYU.  She lives in Manhattan and Montauk. She makes time to paint and having run 9 NYC Marathons she now runs shorter distances and boxes to keep in shape.