Rachel Weidenfeld

Rachel Weidenfeld has a diverse work experience in the field of community health and education. Rachel started their career in 2004 as a Program Coordinator at Justice Resource Institute, where they coordinated a job training program for HIV-affected youth and assisted with HIV support groups. From 2007 to 2008, they worked as a Social Work Intern at Kennedy-Longfellow Middle School, providing counseling services to students and conducting consultations with teachers and staff.

In 2008, Rachel joined Cambridge Health Alliance as a Social Work Intern in the Outpatient Addictions Service, where they conducted individual and group psychotherapy for individuals with dual diagnoses of substance use disorders and mental illness. Rachel also gained experience in motivational interviewing, trauma work, psychodynamic work, and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Rachel then worked as a Project Director at Boston University School of Social Work from 2008 to 2010, where they implemented federally funded evaluation projects, analyzed data, collaborated with community-based agencies, and trained staff on data collection. During this time, they also made contributions to scholarly articles and conference presentations.

In 2009, Rachel took on the role of Project Manager at MEN Count, a structural HIV intervention project at Whittier St Health Center and Boston University School of Public Health. Their responsibilities included leading focus groups, co-developing and leading training sessions, and co-writing evidence-based curriculum for counseling sessions.

From 2010 to 2013, Rachel served as the Manager of HIV Services at PACT Project, a collaborative project between Brigham and Women's Hospital and Partners in Health. Rachel supervised a team of community health workers and research staff, managed quality improvement initiatives and grants, and collaborated with other agencies. Rachel also co-wrote training curricula and conducted trainings on diverse topics related to HIV, substance use, and program management.

Rachel joined Anansi Health in 2014 as an Independent Training/Technical Assistance Consultant, where they trained and consulted with various members of healthcare teams on integrating community health workers into care delivery. This included training on HIV/AIDS, chronic disease care, behavioral health, and substance use.

Most recently, Rachel worked at Justice Resource Institute as the Director of Community Health and Education and later as the Director of Community Health. In these roles, they oversaw training programs, led curriculum writing, facilitated capacity building sessions for community service agencies, supervised teams, and co-managed a merger of a PACT team into JRI Health.

Throughout their career, Rachel has demonstrated expertise in community health and education, training and consulting, program management, and research.

Rachel Weidenfeld earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Oberlin College between 2000 and 2004. Later, between 2007 and 2010, Rachel completed a dual Master's program in Social Work and Public Health at Boston University.