Rachel thrives on learning about new environments and contexts and developing a deep understanding of stakeholders and their needs. She relishes opportunities to help people and organizations to reach their goals more effectively and efficiently.

A passion for equity is what led Rachel to become an educator. She deeply believes that all children should attend schools that are highly functioning, academically rigorous, and tightly tied to community, in order to prepare students for whatever they choose to pursue, including college, careers, and engagement in a democratic society.

Rachel began her career as a 6th grade teacher at Muñoz Marin Elementary in North Philadelphia. Since 2005, she has worked with teachers and leaders in various stages of their careers. This work has spanned cities and states, school contexts, social and political situations, and district and charter affiliations. It includes coaching and mentoring beginning teachers in New Orleans, developing new teacher training in Phoenix and Philadelphia, and driving regional academic strategy for KIPP and Mastery Charter Schools in Philadelphia.

Through these positions, she has built relationships with a diverse range of teachers, leaders, and school district officials in order to support them in creating the best learning environments possible for students and the best working conditions for teachers and leaders. Regardless of the title she holds, Rachel consistently brings a focus on students, communities, and desired outcomes to her work. These varied experiences have provided her with an understanding of the many aspects of what a successful teacher must know, believe, and do, in order to provide maximum academic and psychosocial support to students, as well as how leaders can support teachers in this endeavor.

Rachel returned to academia in 2014 in order to augment what she had gained through years of experience in the field with a more specialized knowledge base and skillset, enabling her to make an even larger impact on the schools and communities she would serve in the future. Through this experience, she broadened her knowledge base about the issues that practitioners and researchers see facing our educational and social systems. She also developed a greater awareness of the climate in which our schools function, expanded knowledge and skills about what constitutes a rigorous and student-centered education, and increased vigor to continue the good work in which many are engaged in our country’s schools and education-adjacent organizations.

Rachel holds a PhD in teaching and teacher education from the University of Michigan. Her academic research focused on project-based learning, improvement science, and how leaders conceptualize the schoolwide scaling of instructional innovation. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and Spanish from Furman University and a master’s degree in urban education from the University of Pennsylvania.

Outside of work, Rachel is involved with numerous athletic teams and community organizations. She sits on two local boards and can often be found paddling on the Schuylkill, running or biking on the SRT, swimming in any available body of water, or making daily trips to the grocery store with her family.