Rachel is a senior technical expert and project director. She serves as co-lead of the USAID Youth Excel activity and provides technical expertise to program design, organizational initiatives, and proposals.

Rachel brings over 20 years of experience in youth development, education, leadership development, community development, and international exchanges. She is committed to elevating innovative approaches for holistic, youth-led, locally sustainable programming across all of IREX’s sectors.

She currently serves as co-chief of party for the $30 million global, cross-sectoral USAID Youth Excel activity, which has worked in over 25 countries in 5 global regions and with over 110 local youth-led and youth-serving organizations since its inception in 2020. She supports a global staff team working in 5 countries and diverse consortium of partners to innovate in key areas to support locally-led youth development, including youth-inclusive research, positive youth development, local capacity strengthening, and youth-inclusive grant-making.

Rachel also provides technical expertise and program oversight to youth-focused activities and helps IREX programs offer stronger support to locally-led development.

Since arriving at IREX in 2008, Rachel has designed, led, and provided oversight to a portfolio of youth, leadership, and education programs funded by USAID, the Department of State, and privately funded projects implemented in the Middle East, Eurasia, Eastern Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa. Her previous IREX roles include: youth practice director, education division deputy director, new business development youth lead, and project director for education, youth, and leadership programs.

Rachel has served as a co-chair for an Alliance for International Youth Development Working Group and as a founding co-chair of SID-W’s Youth in Development Workgroup. Prior to IREX, she served as director for programming and training for Peace Corps Azerbaijan and taught English in Tonga and the U.S.  Rachel holds a master’s degree in international education from George Washington University.