Rachel Howard

I began my employment with Pacific Lutheran University in 2022 as the Sr. Admin for Marriage and Family Therapy. Shortly thereafter, I accepted the position of Assistant to the Dean of Health Professions, which has been a wonderful experience and is a great fit. I left PLU for a short time during the Summer of 2025, but returned shortly thereafter.  PLU places such a strong emphasis on environmental well-being, inclusivity, and diversity that for me, returning to PLU  was in alignment with a sense of returning ‘home’. While my lens for wellness has thus expanded to include supporting the different Departments within the Health Professions, I am thrilled to continue my role of being front and center in providing administrative support for the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy.

I graduated from the University of Windsor with my BA in English in 2006. After graduating, I accepted a position teaching ESL abroad in Seoul, South Korea. During my time overseas, I traveled throughout Asia and absolutely delight in learning and experiencing cultures outside of my native North American lens. In 2009, I moved to the US and have planted roots here in the Pacific Northwest. In 2019, I wrote and published a SEL Children’s Book, ‘When Your Cookie Crumbles’ to help address the growing concerns I observed pertaining to stigmatizing young children who exhibited strong emotions. I have two children, who continue to motivate and inspire daily. They are my guiding light; my beacons of Hope.

In my spare time, I enjoy reading, and while I enjoy diving deep into the next Percy Jackson’s battle against the Titan’s, my real love is immersing myself in the works of great philanthropists, such as Mate, Johnson, Kishimi,  Koga,  Doyle, Brown, Walker, and Frankl (just to name a few). I am a yogi, and a student. A healer, and in pursuit of healing. I am mother, and I am still a child. But most of all, I am a Soul. I am lifted up by other Souls, and believe in the power of collective healing.