Rachel Pleasants McDonnell

Senior Project Manager, Building Economic Opportunity

Contact Rachel Pleasants McDonnell

Rachel Pleasants McDonnell provides management and research support for Accelerating Opportunity, a national initiative to redesign Adult Basic Education programs and policies at state and institutional levels to substantially increase the number of adults who can earn a GED and a credential and enter the workplace with competitive skills. She develops and coordinates both in-person and virtual technical assistance opportunities for the five Accelerating opportunity states, including webinars, tools, and online resources. She also provides research support for Breaking Through, JFF’s collaboration with National Council for Workforce Education to create opportunities for adults with little education to prepare for and succeed in college technical programs. 

Before joining JFF, Ms. McDonnell worked in K-12 education as a program administrator and after-school instructor. She also has worked with a number of career development programs for high school students, including the Met School in Providence, Rhode Island, and Just-A-Start in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Ms. McDonnell has a Master’s in education policy and management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She also holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in painting and a Bachelor’s in Spanish from the University of Iowa.