Rachel Tova Winer, Ph.D.

06/20/2025

01/03/2025

Many thanks to artist DC Medina for the gift of this lovely original work “Winter.” I will keep Winter at my side while I write! Swipe to read the character description, and for more riveting illustrations, go to dcmedina.carrd.co or

12/09/2024

POV: OutGoing getting tangled in a swirl of interactive art multiverse and escaping through the refrigerator.

08/26/2024

Candle making with 3 of the lovely members of the OutGoing group! We made candles for our 2 MIA members, who were with us in spirit while we waxed lyrical 🤗 🕯️ Yesterday marked the group’s 138th monthly outing!

06/11/2024

Announcing Houston Contemporary Dance Company’s newest Board Member, Dr. Rachel Winer! Dr. Winer was a Board Advisor for 2 years and has joined our team officially on June 1, 2024! Welcome Dr. Winer!

04/12/2024

The OutGoing group had a glorious evening of jazz and learning about Czech culture at the Czech Center Museum Houston, paired with a delicious dinner at The Raven Grill with our VIP photographer and filmmaker . The OutGoing group was started in 2012 as a means toward exploring the world and building social lives with arts and culture, as an alternative to traditional therapies.

11/23/2023

Thank you to Sarah Beth Limón of Joyride Houston for a glorious afternoon with our Outgoing group, touring the Houston murals! An excellent guide adds dimension and models enthusiasm, and you enhanced our experience of the murals. One of our own, artist DC Medina (pictured), continues to thrive in an atmosphere that encourages bold expression of imagination. These works of art reflect the city’s spirit, values, and vast inclusive cultural range. As with the first and last photos of murals by , not only is Houston inspired, but you might find yourself becoming part of its fabric.

The Outgoing group is an arts and cultural education experience for shy or socially reserved people in search of community and belonging. Since 2012, we have stood together shoulder to shoulder, witnessing places, people, and objects that inspire us, give us more to talk about, and lead us to discover what we have in common. Join us!

08/14/2023

One of my new favorite back to school resources for children and the adults who love and care for them is The Resilience Workbook for Kids, by Caren Baruch-Feldman, PhD and Rebecca Comizio, MA, MEd. It’s written in a language that kids can understand, with creative tools and exercises that kids can access and enjoy together with an adult. I am getting great feedback from kids and parents about how this book helps kids stay strong and manage big emotions!

07/05/2023

Last month OutGoing caught up with Houston Ballet’s much beloved principal dancer Melody Mennite following HB’s mixed repertory program “Divergence.” We had lunch with her after watching her dance in Aszure Barton’s “Angular Momentum” where she performed an upside down, slow motion moonwalk while being lifted.

An outspoken model for self-determination and self-expression, Melody shared her continuing personal and professional evolution as a dancer, mother, adventurer, and constant student. We spoke together about being viewed as different, or not conforming to a norm, a frequent theme for this group. She candidly shared how she has navigated the notoriously strict culture of dance.

I reminded the group that it wasn’t our first meeting with Melody: several years ago, we watched her perform the title role in Romeo and Juliet. Her commanding performance was so moving that one member of the group told me that they could feel her experience, even from our balcony seats at the Wortham Theater. It was a memorable role for her among many other notable performances in classical and contemporary ballets and film, several of which I have had the privilege to see over the past two decades in Houston.

I wonder who from the group would have imagined that years later we would be sharing a meal, ideas, and interests with Melody, discovering in her as stunningly unique and authentic a friend as she is a bold and masterful artist. The group felt that they somehow had been given permission to be their truest selves.

05/21/2023

“I wanted to make art that wasn’t only about my struggles, because I’m more than the sum of my struggles.”

Last month the OutGoing group had the honor of visiting prolific Houston artist Stephanie González in her studio, after which we shared a meal together at TOUT SUITE. The group members listened intently as Stephanie shared with us her work and her life stories that set her on a path of creative self-discovery, toward her current work which combines elements of natural beauty with an expression of spirituality.

In our process as an 11-year experiential group, though some have graduated and new people have joined, we are actively connecting more closely with impactful artist-storytellers, and not only creative venues. Stephanie certainly is a talented storyteller and one month post-visit has inspired two of the group members to resume their creative endeavors.

Beyond connection, I’ve observed that artists serve as role models, perhaps more than they might realize. Visits with artists like Stephanie become unforgettable inflection points for OutGoing group members. Welcoming us into the home and/or studio and sharing meaningful stories are acts of enormous generosity that mean a great deal to individuals and the community. I consider this practice and habit a true service in providing evidence of belonging and identification with one another.

Thanks to writer and composer Chris Becker for introducing me to Stephanie - we are grateful for our network of Houston creatives.

We appreciated our time with you so much, Stephanie! You continue to inspire us.

For more on Stephanie’s work and upcoming shows, please visit her website https://www.stephaniegonzalez.net/

and her Instagram: me_gusta_pintar_si