Rachael Cerrotti
(B. 1989, Boston, Massachusetts)
Rachael Cerrotti is an award-winning writer, producer, educator, and curator. Through an interdisciplinary practice, she explores stories rooted in the humanity of grief and inherited memory. She is the former Inaugural Storyteller in Residence for USC Shoah Foundation and is now a fellow with The Witness Institute, joining an international cohort of leaders exploring how to build communities of moral reflection. She is also a Us@250 fellow at New America where her storytelling work is being supported as part of the efforts to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary. She currently produces and hosts Along The Seam, a conversational podcast about the complex and often times paradoxical self as it relates to our family histories and collective memories.
In 2019, Rachael released her first podcast — We Share The Same Sky. It was the first-ever narrative podcast based on a Holocaust survivor’s testimony and tells the story of her decade-long journey to retrace her grandmother’s war story. We Share The Same Sky was listed as one of the best podcasts of the year by HuffPost, a Reader’s Pick by Vulture Magazine and as a “Show We Love” by Apple Podcasts; it is now being taught in high school classrooms around the world. Her critically-acclaimed debut memoir, also titled We Share The Same Sky, was released in August 2021. It won the Maine Literary Award, was shortlisted for the 2022 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly and was listed as one of the best books of the month by Apple Books. She recently curated this project for a traveling museum exhibition that opened in the fall of 2023 at the Florida Holocaust Museum.
Rachael’s stories have been published and featured by NPR, PRI’s The World, All Things Considered, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and various other publications. In 2017, she was the subject of an award-winning multimedia series produced by WBUR, Boston’s NPR station, titled Beyond Sides of History. Her stories have been used in curriculums developed by and for Discovery Education, USC Shoah Foundation, Echoes & Reflections, Facing History & Ourselves, Jewish Women’s Archive and others. She has worked and consulted with various museums and organizations and currently sits on the board of Aegis Trust and Community Plate. Rachael regularly visits different communities as a speaker, leads writing workshops and art-based programming for students of all ages, and coaches individuals on their storytelling projects.
Rachael has worked in over a dozen countries and is now rooted in Portland, Maine with her partner and their much-adored dog and cat.
Awards, Residencies & Exhibitions
2023-2024 Fellow | New America (Us@250)
2023-2024 Fellow | The Witness Institute
2022 Saroyan Prize Shortlist for We Share The Same Sky | Stanford University
2022 Winner of Maine Literary Awards in Memoir category for We Share The Same Sky
2022 Scholar in Residence | Duquesne University
2022 Artist in Residence | Temple Israel of Hollywood
2021 - 2022: Inaugural Storyteller in Residence | USC Shoah Foundation
2021 We Share The Same Sky listed as one of the “best books of the month” | Apple Books
2021 Starred Review for We Share The Same Sky | Publisher’s Weekly
2020 Reader Pick for We Share The Same Sky podcast | Vulture from New York Magazine
2020 Runner up for We Share The Same Sky podcast, Prose Category | Miller Audio Prize
2020 Apple Podcasts, We Share The Same Sky listed for consecutive months under “Shows We Love”
2019 Best Podcasts of 2019 for We Share The Same Sky | HuffPost
2018 Finalist, Natalia Twersky Educator Award | Jewish Women’s Archive
2018 Associated Press Media Editor’s Award, Excellence and Innovation in Storytelling for Beyond Sides of History : A Series (produced by WBUR)
2018 Edward R. Murrow Award, Excellence in Innovation for Beyond Sides of History : A Series (produced by WBUR)
2016 First Place, Natural World | Northern Short Course in Photojournalism
2016 Honorary Mention, International Picture Story | Northern Short Course in Photojournalism
2015 Lori Minden Tancer Award | Momenta Workshops
2015 Honorary Mention, Natural Disaster & Environment | Northern Short Course in Photojournalism
2014 Solo Exhibition | Prague, Czech Republic
2013 Solo Exhibition | Temple Israel of Boston