Rachel Haxtema lives and works in the beautiful green Pacific Northwest under the shadow of Mt. Rainier and near the edge of Puget Sound where she actually loves the rain and grey weather almost as much as she loves connecting people and participating in community-building efforts.
After braving the too hot summers and too cold winters in Michigan for undergrad degrees at Calvin College, a year in Central America (also too hot) learning about community development and studying Spanish, a year in Washington D.C. (way too hot and humid in the summer) working with Sojourners and learning about faith-based organizing and policy advocacy, a year in Switzerland (not bad but too far from home) working with international faith-based service and justice efforts, and finally several years in the much too sunny Bay area of California for several years of graduate school (M.Div. and M.A. in Social Theory and Ethics) and work with environmental non-profits, she is so happy to be back in the perfect weather and outdoor setting of her homeland, the Puget Sound region of Washington state.
Currently, Rachel is supporting a grant-funded project at University UCC in Seattle and supporting a research/book project with an academic colleague. She also teaches Christian Ethics as part-time adjunct faculty at Pacific Lutheran University. For several years, Rachel focused on community engagement with students at Pacific Lutheran University, incorporating ABCD into these efforts and also into community volunteering efforts with gardening programs and in her church communities.
Rachel is married to Zane and has two awesome kids, Sam and Phoebe - they all enjoy being outdoors on trails and beaches and gardening in the backyard