Jewel Rodgers Is Named the Next Nebraska State Poet

The daughter of Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers becomes the first African American State Poet in Nebraska history.

L-R Jewel Rodgers, Gov. Jim Pillen, Suzanne Pillen, Johnny Rodgers. / Credit: Nebraska Examiner

Jewel Rodgers, the daughter of 1972 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers, was named this week by Gov. Jim Pillen to be the next Nebraska State Poet. She was selected from four applicants. She is the youngest at 27 years old and the first African American chosen for the position, which has a five-year renewable term

Jewel Rogers is a three-time Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards nominee for Best Performance in Omaha, and a three-time TEDx speaker. She has received numerous accolades, including being a 2022 Union for Contemporary Art Fellow, a 2023 Andy Warhol Populus Fund Grantee, and a 2024 finalist in the Blackberry Peach Poetry Slam. She is also a Teaching Artist with the Nebraska Writers Collective and co-hosts the Nebraska Poetry Society’s monthly Vocal Fry Open Mic. As an interdisciplinary poet, performer, and visual artist, she blends her artistic practice with roles as an urban engagement specialist, youth coach, and spatial practitioner in the Midwest.

She earned a master’s in real estate development from New York University and a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a Buffet Scholar.

She is the founder of PlaceMade, a resident-led group dedicated to creating community amenities as interim solutions to blight. Through this initiative, she has spearheaded impactful projects such as Tierra Park—a pocket park featuring a pollinator garden and food pantry—and Caden's Corner, a skate ramp and community garden. Alongside these efforts, she serves as a Development Manager at Noddle Companies, where she supports the financial analysis of a wide variety of commercial real estate projects.

State poets lead poetry workshops and discussions in Nebraska schools, libraries and businesses. They are tasked with being ambassadors of the written word for rural and urban residents.

Related Links: Governor Pillen Announcement, Nebraska Examiner article, Blog article, KFOR, KETV

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