Rebecca Atkins

Rebecca Atkins, LPC, NCC (Becca) has been with Artreach since 1993, when she began working as Assistant Director of The Second Step Players. She has served as Executive Director since 2007, and Director of The Second Step Players since 1996. Becca is a CT Licensed Professional Counselor and National Certified Counselor. She holds a B.S. in Dance from James Madison University and a Masters of Counseling Psychology (MACP) from Antioch N.E. Graduate School. In her artistic life, Becca plays bass and guitar, sings with the Rock Voices choir, and maintains a writing practice. She has been the "script doctor" for all Artreach shows from the mid-90's until 2020.
Becca, and Artreach under her leadership, have received many accolades for their work. In 2019, she was named a CT Arts Hero, awarded by the CT Office of the Arts. She also received the 2019 Katharine Hepburn Award for using media as a platform for social change from the CT Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO). In 2013, she was received a Reintegration Award for Artistic Contribution from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. In 2023, the Norwich Branch NAACP presented Artreach with a Daniel Jenkins Memorial Award for "demonstrating dedication and commitment to raising awareness of mental health issues and continuing the fight to end the stigma of mental illness. In 2018, the Norwich Branch NAACP presented Becca with the Community Service Award for "Artreach's work using the creative arts to support sustainable recovery for psychiatric disorders through theater, music, creative arts and alternative wellness opportunities that enhance the quality of life for their members."