As the assistant director of leadership innovation and impact, Rachel helps measure and amplify the impact of the Ascend Fellows, synthesizing and sharing learnings from their work and supporting Fellows’ collective action.
Prior to joining Ascend in 2022, Rachel was the deputy director at New America CA, supporting research, programs, community engagement, and narrative change efforts to increase economic equity across California. In 2013 Rachel helped establish the Makers + Mentors Network, a collaboration between Citizen Schools and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, to address unequal access to STEM careers for girls and students of color. She began her career in higher education, serving as an admission officer and then as a college counselor for aspiring first-generation college students and their families.
Rachel has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from Boston University. She lives in Oakland, California with her partner and two children.