Eclipses & Sunlight: an Unexpected New Beginning
I wanted to start this year off with non-pessimism and it is still the goal, but for a very different reason than anticipated. I had plans to move to Washington, D.C. in mid-March 2025 but then life had other ideas.
Suddenly, I am now here at a fork in the road at the precipice of a new beginning. I'm taking the time to heal, recover, and refocus on myself while making some big decisions. I am proud to say that I received offers of admission to Harvard University, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, and Georgetown University as well as in the throes of interviews at amazing organizations. I am learning new skills and bettering myself to become my best self.
If there is one thing that I can impart from this life lesson to you, it's this:
"His grief he will not forget; but it will not darken his heart, it will teach him wisdom." - J.R.R. Tolkien
Leader. Futurist. Changemaker.
Rachel is an award-winning young leader with a history of supporting social causes contributing to 100+ projects with 116 organizations across 37 countries. In her entrepreneurial pursuits, Rachel founded the advocacy youth organization Global Futurist Initiative™, the community development consortium Project Energy for Life Cameroon, and her consulting practice. Through consulting, she has worked for institutions such as Sesame Workshop, Johnson & Johnson, Fashion Community Foundation, and Friends of the Global Fund U.S. to foster strategic partnerships for advancing their mission objectives. In one of her recent effort as the Foundations Partnerships Consultant for UNICEF USA, Rachel supported a $242 million portfolio by working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and UN Foundation, among others, to align on safeguarding children’s and youth rights worldwide.
Rachel has held numerous appointments including the IMF, U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, Foreign Policy for America, AFS Youth Assembly, and United Nations Association of the USA. Rachel currently holds a Visiting Associateship of Policy & Practice at the University of Notre Dame Pulte Institute for Global Development where she is conducting U.S. policy research. Receiving numerous appointments and 31 awards, Rachel is a sought-out speaker and actively contributes to publications on matters concerning youth and social impact.
Born and raised in Northwest Indiana (colloquially referred to as The Region), Rachel received her BS in Chemistry and MBA from Purdue University as well as a MS in Global Health from the University Notre Dame. Receiving the 2024 Domer Dozen Award and the 2023 Purdue Rising Professional Honor, she has attained Distinguished Young Alumni status at both of her alma maters.
News & announcements
A Preliminary Study Assessing Drivers of Localizing Global Agendas in the State of Indiana through City-level Implementation
With many of us hard at work in this space, the is time now to lean in and work together for being the change we seek! That is why I embarked on a journey to localize global agendas with the Pulte Institute for Global Development as a leading partner. Below is my long-awaited research publication!
Key words: policy, mayors, survey, U.S., politics
Other highlights: developed survey to understand and compare perspectives of local level leaders in Indiana; mayors across political affiliations, age ranges, and education levels support implementing global agendas; identified opportunities to localize systematically.
Receiving the United States President's Lifetime Achievement Award
After years of volunteering with an accumulation of over 4,000 hours, I finally attained the Lifetime Achievement Award for the U.S. President's Volunteers Service Awards hosted by AmeriCorps and Points of Light! My dedication to service, however, is only the beginning. I am grateful to my mentor Lumbie Mlambo and her organization J.B. Dondolo, Inc. for facilitating and to all the organizations I've had the humbling experience to give back to.
Hosting at International Youth Conference 10!
Excited to have been in New York for Global Goals Week to host The Future of Intergenerational Unity! One issue that will always be a core part of my work is on youth and future generations. I have been incredibly humbled to have been invited throughout my career to speak up about equity for youth even down to its definition of what young people mean by being heard.
Often drawing back to the United Nations Youth Office's "Be Seen Be Heard" campaign, this conference is a pivotal moment for young people, especially from the Global South, to shape what the next global agendas will look like, and I am looking forward to seeing how the Summit of the Future will deliver on its commitments.
Domer Dozen 2024 Honoree
The Domer Dozen honors outstanding graduates ages 32 and younger for their significant contributions and extraordinary dedication to learning, service, faith, and work — four areas in which the Notre Dame Alumni Association seeks to help alumni thrive. The program is a signature initiative of YoungND, the Alumni Association’s young alumni group. The 2024 honorees were selected for their incredible achievements in education, health care, international relations, religious life, entrepreneurship and public service, among other areas. They were chosen by a selection committee consisting of the YoungND board, University officials, and Alumni Association staff, who considered 91 nominees this summer and evaluated them based on a weighted ranking system and their contributions in their respective fields.
Returning to the IMF in Washington: An invitation to celebrate the IMF Youth Fellowship!
This year marks the fourth anniversary of the IMF Youth Fellowship program, and in celebration, I was invited as an alumna from previous years for discussions and activities that align with the IMF's vision and strategic priorities for future generations.
Leveraging this professional background, passion, and experiences, my participation aims to enrich IMF conversations and contribute valuable perspectives and innovative ideas through the pertinent topics of climate, gender, and AI as the agency commemorate its 80th anniversary.
UN Foundation's Our Future Agenda Intergenerational Townhall: National Vision for 2100
This past weekend, I had the incredible experience of sitting alongside two amazing leaders, Ose Ehianeta Arheghan and Sophia Kianni, on the National Vision for 2100 Intergenerational Townhall who each had critical wisdom to share that came from lived experience, demonstrating their diligence and passion for solving issues that face current generations today and future generations of tomorrow.
Commending the work that United Nations Association of the United States of America, United Nations Foundation, and Our Future Agenda has done to enable us this opportunity, this townhall was exemplary of intergenerational action where participants also got to craft solutions surrounding 12 ideas for future generations. We the panelists facilitated round table discussions and not only shared what our tables crafted but *radically!* listened to what many groups created as pathways forward towards our shared vision.
US Global Leadership Coalition Hill Day
Working with the US Global Leadership Coalition has been an extraordinary learning and impactful experience on my advocacy career. Proud to work alongside my Indiana state advisory committee members who each have unique backgrounds and perspectives to send a clear message across all of Congress: we must continue our legacy of bi-partisan, accountable, and effective legislation in supporting our International Affairs Budget that serve all Americans and the world.
🏆AFS Young Global Citizen Award Finals 🏆
I was selected as one of six finalists to compete for the AFS Young Global Citizen Award sponsored by DHL and presented by AFS Intercultural Programs. The AFS Award for Young Global Citizens recognizes young people for their commitment to improving the global community and whose actions contribute to a more just, peaceful, and tolerant world. The Award will be awarded to a Youth Assembly delegate who demonstrates how their project is successfully addressing a pressing global issue, tackling one or more of the challenges outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and what this translates into in real-life impacts.
HISTORY OF APPOINTMENTS
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