Hello, I'm Rachel!
I'm a former founder.
About me
It's all in the personal details.
I've always been drawn to unlikely pairings — a fascination that began at Wellesley, where I studied Media Arts and Sciences, combining computer science and studio art (ask me about 19th-century printing presses). The most interesting work, I've found, happens when worlds that don't usually intersect are forced to meet.
I'm currently at Northwestern's MMM program, pursuing an MBA at the Kellogg School of Management and an MS in Design Innovation at the Segal Design Institute. Most recently, I spent the summer at Amazon Alexa+ as a Sr. Product Management — Technical Intern, working on LLMs for international customers and improving how the product shows up across different locales and cultures.
Before grad school, I built Coding it Forward from a dorm-room idea into a national nonprofit with a mission to modernize government through the country's best early-career technical talent. As CEO, I grew it from zero to a multi-million-dollar organization recognized by the White House as the model for the U.S. Digital Corps, supported by funders like the Ford Foundation, and featured in two books (Hacking Your Bureaucracy and We the Possibility). It's still running today, nearly a decade later.
When I'm not at my desk, I'm probably wandering an art museum, with my nose in a library book, at a Vampire Weekend concert (3 in the past year), or stitching away at my latest needlepoint project.
Toolkit
I'm never without my pens or post-it notes.
Product & Strategy
0→1 Founder
I build products from zero to scale, with my hands in the work at every stage. I turned a dorm-room idea into a national organization that built a 7-figure revenue stream from 60+ government agencies.
Design strategist
I find signal in the noise and frame the problem worth solving, then get hands-on to ideate and ship. From interviews to insights to implementation, I work the full design arc.
Cross-disciplinary collaborator
I hold conversations across engineering, design, data, and policy, translating between them without dropping the thread.
Operations & Execution
Automating systems
I was automating systems before AI was the word du jour. From vibe coding to no-code tools, I create workflows that cut manual work while keeping humans in the loop on what matters.
Process design
I design processes that make complex work repeatable. I map decisions, handoffs, and edge cases, then turn them into playbooks and SOPs teams can actually follow.
Evidence-based decisions
I use data to pressure-test narratives and narratives to contextualize data. Good decisions need both, and I know when to trust which.
Jill-of-all-trades
Quick study
I can learn just about anything. From LLM evaluation to legal tech to government contracting, I've ramped on unfamiliar domains fast enough to hold my own in expert conversations within weeks.
Ambiguity navigator
I can navigate complex webs of people, priorities, and politics without needing a map handed to me. Give me a vague goal and competing stakeholders, and I'll find my way through.
Persistent problem-solver
I've cracked multi-state compliance puzzles, engineered workflow solutions, and figured out systems no one had documented yet. If there's an answer out there, I'll find it. If there isn't, I'll build one.