Rebecca Silverman

Rebecca Silverman is the Co-Founder of Rose Café, a community bookstore in the Roseland neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago that aims to address the book desert in the community by providing access and reading opportunities. Rebecca became passionate about equal access to quality literature during her time as an elementary school teacher in Chicago, and believes that literacy access can transform a historically disinvested neighborhood. In partnership with her co-founder, Roseland native Iesha Malone, Rebecca hopes Rose Café will be a community space that will encourage a love of reading for youth, bring business and art to the Roseland neighborhood, and inspire new generations through community programming and civic engagement opportunities.

Rebecca is pursuing a dual master’s degree at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice.