Rachel was born in Minnesota and grew up in Chicago, IL. As the oldest of eight in her family, she learned early on in life how to care for kids and she gained important interpersonal and communication skills that came with the responsibilities of helping run the household in a big family. Before college she moved to Mexico for six months to serve at a children’s home. During that time her love for Latin American culture and for the Spanish Language was solidified. She went on to study Spanish Studies and Latin American History at the University of Minnesota. Rachel has spent almost four years in Mexico, collectively, serving at the Children’s home at different times as a room mom, administrative assistant and event coordinator. She now continues to serve as their fundraising ambassador in the states. Rachel is most passionate about helping vulnerable children and she has had the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Haiti, The Dominican Republic and Belize as part of this work. She was awarded the Community Engagement Award from the department of Spanish Studies at the University of Minnesota in 2016 because of her extensive efforts to break down barriers for immigrants and refugees who are new to Minnesota. She volunteered at CLUES and did an internship with the Immigrant and Refugee program at the Advocates for Human Rights. She now serves as a member of a board of individuals in the Twin Cities who are committed to serving and supporting vulnerable children all around the world called Orphan’s Joy. For the last five years, Rachel has been working as a mental health case manager at a community clinic in south Minneapolis. There she has gained valuable experience in the mental health field that has helped her to develop skills she now brings to the table as The Dean of Students at ISLA. Rachel is eager to start working with the kids at ISLA and is excited about the focus that the school places on raising life-long learners who are bilingual and culturally aware.