Rachel was raised in a bi-cultural heritage of Shackan First Nations (Nicola Tribal Association, British Columbia) on her mother's side and ancestors who sailed to the shores of Turtle Island/North America on the second ship called the Mayflower in 1629. Her academic background includes an MA in cultural anthropology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, with a focus on the role of symbol systems and folk heroes within the adaptive processes of culture change. Rachel received her M.Div. degree from Loyola University Chicago in 1994 and is a board-certified healthcare chaplain. She was ordained a priest in The Episcopal Church in 2004 and has over 30 years of experience working with organizational trauma recovery and organizational assessment and development. Rachel is currently the Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Everett, WA, and serves on the Board of the Anglican Indigenous Network, an international community of indigenous leaders committed to education and advocacy for a post-colonial world. She is a co-founder and lead coordinator of Circles of Color, the grassroots advocacy network of people of color and allies in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia (Western Washington).