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Rita Shelton Deverell (born 1945 to Versie and Hugh Shelton) is a
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
television broadcaster and social activist, who was one of the founders of the Canadian television channel Vision TV. She also served as news director for the
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) is a group of Television in Canada, Canadian Specialty channel, specialty television channels based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The channels broadcast programming produced by or highlighting Indigenous p ...
from 2002 to 2005. Born in
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, Deverell moved to Canada in 1967, and began her television career in 1972 as the producer of a children's television program. In 1974, she joined
CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...
as a journalist, including a stint with the program '' Take 30''. In 1983, she left to become a journalism professor at the
University of Regina The University of Regina is a public university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a j ...
, and in 1988 she left there to become one of the founders of Vision TV. In addition to working as an executive with Vision TV, she also hosted numerous interstitial segments between programs, and was noted for often wearing a
flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
in her hair when hosting these segments. She has also been a board member of Obsidian Theatre Company, a
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
company which specializes in
black Canadian Black Canadians () are Canadians of full or partial Afro-Caribbean or sub-Saharan African descent. Black Canadian settlement and immigration patterns can be categorized into two distinct groups. The majority of Black Canadians are descendants ...
drama. In 2021 she was named the chancellor of
Lakehead University Lakehead University is a public research university with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate programs, gradua ...
.


Awards

*Deverell has been named to the ''
Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...
'' Honour Roll of Outstanding Canadians, and to the
Canadian Association of Broadcasters The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is a trade association representing the interests of commercial radio and television broadcasters in Canada. It is co-located with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council in Ottawa. It was first ...
Hall of Fame. *She was named a member of the
Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...
in 2005. *She was named
ACTRA The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is a Canadian trade union representing performers in English-language media. It has over 30,000 members working in film, television, radio, and all other recorded media. Th ...
's Woman of the Year in 2018. *She has been awarded two Geminis *She was awarded the
Governor General's Performing Arts Award The Governor General's Performing Arts Awards are an annual Canadian award, presented to honour distinguished achievements in Canadian performing arts and culture. Administered by the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation in associ ...
in 2022.


Works

Rita has written one book, ''American Refugees: Turning to Canada for Freedom''.


References


External links


Aboriginal Peoples Television Network homepageRita's personal blogInterview Deverell for ''Take 30'' Access
1981, CBC YouTube. 1945 births Living people Canadian women activists Members of the Order of Canada Black Canadian broadcasters American expatriates in Canada Activists from Houston Mass media people from Houston Canadian television executives Women television executives Canadian women television journalists Black Canadian women Canadian women television hosts Chancellors by university and college in Canada Governor General's Award winners Black Canadian journalists {{Canada-tv-bio-stub