As the Director of Policy, Rachel (she/her) leads policy reform, advocacy efforts, and research relating to economic justice for women and gender-diverse people living in poverty, the rights of gender-based violence survivors and immigrants, and access to justice and court reform. With a policy agenda informed by the civil legal needs of Her Justice’s clients, Rachel and the policy team draft and comment on legislation at the city, state and federal levels; craft and participate in advocacy campaigns, including in coalition with other advocacy groups; and testify on the needs of Her Justice clients and other New Yorkers before policymakers. She also designs and implements research projects, including court observation, survey, and qualitative interview projects, to advance equitable access to justice and economic stability for Her Justice clients and women living in poverty.
Prior to Her Justice, Rachel was an Associate in the Litigation Department at Fried Frank where she was the first Fried Frank Extern with Her Justice (then inMotion) in 2005. Rachel was a member and then Chair of the Sex and Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association from 2004 to 2011.
Rachel was proud to serve on the Board of Directors of the YWCA Brooklyn from 2014 to 2020, including as Vice Chair. Rachel holds a B.A. from Boston College and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.