Non-Profit Consultant | Turning Ideas Into Impact Using Scientific Approach
I always envisioned having a career that helped people and served my community.
My earliest experiences in leadership were in service-based organizations and programs that helped to train civic leaders and public servants. I believe in the concept of community and that members of a community must support each other.
I graduated high school wanting to choose a career to serve others. I ended up majoring in soil science and global development because I thought I wanted to do research to help people across the world grow food and protect the environment.
In graduate school, I realized that I liked talking to people about science more than I liked actually conducting scientific research myself. I found that talking about science to policymakers could have a major impact on how they make decisions and I had an opportunity to found a nonprofit focused on this work.
After founding and directing a nonprofit for two years, I realized that at my core, I was truly passionate about taking important work and ideas and making them happen. Consulting was a way that I would work with nonprofits across the country to support their ideas and help them to make an impact.
As a nonprofit consultant, with a PhD in soil science, I bring a systems-minded approach to help free up time and focus on the most important work. I also love facilitating harmonious progress in board meetings by bridging gaps in varying opinions. After working with me, organizations move forward with strategic direction and time to pursue what matters most to the people that they serve.
It is an honor to help organizations take their ideas and make positive change in the world. Service-based or mission-focused organizations are often run by volunteers or over-worked employees. Many don’t realize that consultants can be an affordable way to help meet the needs of their organizations.
My Bio
Dr. Rachel K. Owen is a policy and social entrepreneur with proven success in making things happen. Throughout her career, she has not only seen the vision for how to solve problems facing graduate students, scientists, farmers, policymakers and more, but also taken initiative to implement solutions.
In 2016, Dr. Owen co-founded Missouri Science and Technology (MOST) Policy Initiative and served as the founding executive director from 2019 - 2021. During her time leading MOST, she was invited to give presentations across the country about how to implement nonpartisan science advising into state-level policy. She also led MOST through their transition to an independent nonprofit (501c3) organization and grew the organization from a single employee to a team of 12 full and part time staff.
In 2021, Rachel co-founded SciTech Forefront, a Medium publication aimed to bring science policy writers together to share resources and articles. She now serves as the Co-Editor of Forefront. Rachel is also the Development Director of Engineers and Scientists Acting Locally (ESAL).
Dr. Owen received her Ph.D. in the University of Missouri School of Natural Resources, researching the impact of a changing climate on wetland ecosystems and landowner perceptions of climate and agricultural threats in the Great Plains. In 2018, Dr. Owen was awarded the Science-to-Action Fellowship through the U.S. Geological Survey which allowed her to work with landowners in the southern Great Plains to better understand climate change perceptions and wetland conservation priorities. Prior to moving to Missouri, she completed her B.S. in Agronomy and Global Resources Systems at Iowa State University and her M.S. in Plant Science from South Dakota State University. Her master’s thesis focused on better understanding field-scale spatial variability of saline and sodic soils in the northern Great Plains.
Rachel has been involved in leadership and service throughout the duration of her education and career. At Iowa State, she served as Co-Director of VEISHEA, Inc. and Chancellor of Alpha Zeta honors agricultural fraternity. At South Dakota State, she founded the Plant Science Graduate Student Association and organized a department seminar series on spatial statistics. At University of Missouri, Rachel got her start in policy by serving on the Graduate Professional Council’s State Affairs Committee and later went on to serve as GPC’s Director of National Affairs. Outside of her university involvements, Dr. Owen has served on various committees with the American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America, including as the graduate student representative to the Board of Directors of the Soil Science Society of America. In recent years, Rachel has been actively engaged with her local chapter of Citizen’s Climate Lobby and the Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, she served on the Jefferson City, MO Environmental Quality Commission and was a homework helper for City of Refuge in Columbia, MO.
In 2021, Dr. Owen was appointed as an adjunct faculty member in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri. In addition to coaching the Mizzou soil judging team, Rachel was the lead instructor for Introduction to Soil Science (SOIL 2100) in Spring 2021 and plans to continue teaching remotely and assisting with research when possible. Dr. Owen has published several soil science journal articles from her PhD research, MS research, and teaching experiences.