Rachel brings diverse higher ed experience to the Education Design Lab as a Data Designer focusing on rural colleges.

Previously, she served as the Rural College Data Lead for the Rural Practitioner Data and Design Academy cohort. In this role, Rachel worked closely with institutions to help implement or expand their data collection methods and provide guidance on how to use that data to advocate for learners in their communities.

Prior to starting at the Lab, Rachel most recently worked at Ocelot as an AI conversational designer. She has also held positions in housing at a small, private liberal arts college, financial aid at a large state university, and taught Social Problems at a rural community college. In graduate school, Rachel was a graduate assistant for Sociology of Communities and Intro to Sociology, and advised sociology and anthropology students. She went to college and graduate school in rural Illinois and now lives in a rural portion of Maryland near where her partner grew up. 

She is excited to join the Lab and work with like-minded people who love to problem solve and strategize. She is glad to be continuing her work with colleges and helping to use data to impact change in rural communities.

HOMETOWN: Detroit, Michigan

BACHELOR’S: Sociology & Philosophy, Illinois Wesleyan University

MASTER’S: Sociology & Gender Studies, Illinois State University

FAVORITE QUOTE: “Fear is only a verb if you let it be”. – Andrea Gibson

WHEN I’M NOT AT WORK I’M… probably wrangling a litter of foster kittens, crocheting too many blankets, or driving way too far for food with her partner.