In this interview, Rita Itkin Schwartz (1937-) talks about family history of her parents and grandparents, and her young life in the traditional Jewish family in Crown Heights/Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn and Forest Hill in Queens. Schwartz recalls her educational experiences in music, and her career in music therapy, and as a community organizer and political lobbyist. She talks about her late husband Alan, and their settlement in Brooklyn Heights where she has lived for over 40 years. She talks about their experiences at Temple Emanu-El and Brooklyn Heights Synagogue (BHS) including her relationships with the BHS rabbis: Rabbi David Glazer, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, Rabbi Al Lowenberg, Rabbi Serge Lippe, Rabbi Hara Persons, and Rabbi Sue Ann Wasserman. She talks about her trips to Poland with her daughter, and to Russia with the members of BHS. Throughout the interview Schwartz talks about women in Judaism, and her family's connection with BHS. She describes the political origins of BHS' homeless shelter and the establishment of Heights and Hills, a provider of case management services for older adults in Brooklyn. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan.