Rachel graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014 from the School of Social Work and the University of Texas at Arlington in 2019 with a master’s degree in social work. (Fun fact: Over the course of those five years, she also had two children.) Rachel is a Licensed Masters Social Worker (LMSW) and a Certified Praesidium Guardian, a certification program that teaches best practices in organizational abuse prevention, including specific steps to prevent incidents of abuse. She also worked as a Child Advocacy Specialist at CASA of Travis County.

Because of her mother’s work in family law, at an early age, Rachel was aware of the child welfare system and how it affects children, and during her time in undergraduate and graduate school, she felt called to work with children in foster care. As she learned more about how trauma affects the brains of children and their sensory needs, she felt uniquely qualified to work with children in foster care because of her children’s experiences with sensory challenges. 

Rachel and her husband, Kenneth, are both native Austinites and met in high school. They have two sons (Aiden and Lucas), two rescue dogs (a geriatric pitbull and a spunky german shepherd/catahoula leopard dog mix), and a tiny cat (who they’re convinced will outlive ‘em all). Rachel loves to travel and explore new places, check out parks and hiking trails with her family, and read.