Rachel came to Virginia from Austin, Texas in 2023 to join the Covenant family as the associate pastor. The granddaughter of a Presbyterian pastor and the daughter of a church musician, Rachel literally grew up in the church building where they found their home in Christian formation, teaching Sunday school and youth group and developing curriculum for all ages. Rachel holds a BS in Psychology from the University of Houston and taught early childhood education in a suburb of Houston for 17 years before beginning their studies at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2018. Rachel’s seminary studies settled around the areas of Christian formation and worship. They cares deeply about creating spaces for faith formation where people are encouraged to ask questions, wonder about faith together, and find themselves in the story of the people of God. In their spare time, you will find Rachel playing board games with their spouse, Douglas, spending time with their three teenage daughters, Delilah, Karen, and Lily, or petting their four cats.