Rachel is currently open to new opportunities. She is looking for a position that will allow her to grow as a leader, develop her project management skills, and contribute to a worthwhile cause. Rachel is open to moving to a new location, either domestically or internationally.A Returned Peace Corps Volunteer with a strong work ethic, sharp critical thinking skills, and dependable adaptability, Rachel Beard has two degrees in Computer Science (BS) and Journalism (BA) from Michigan State University. After being unexpectedly evacuated from Namibia due to the COVID-19 Pandemic in March of 2020, her passion for public service led her to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support the world's coronavirus response efforts. She began as a Health Communications Specialist in the Division of Public Affairs and now works directly with CDC's senior leadership, including CDC Directors Rochelle Walensky and Mandy Cohen, as a Protocol Specialist and Travel Coordinator in the Office of the Chief of Staff.Rachel's experience covers a wide range of fields, from computer science to education to public health to graphic design to academia to journalism. But she is more than a jack of all trades - and make no mistake: she is certainly not a master of none. Rachel's diverse background gives her a wide knowledge base to pull from, regardless of the problem in front of her; a knowledge base that makes it easy for her to adjust to new circumstances and develop innovative solutions. Whether she's teaching in a village in Namibia, supporting a global pandemic response, debugging lines of code, or designing for a magazine, Rachel is the kind of person who always grows where she's planted.