Rachel G. Oesterle

Rachel joined Young & Company in 2005 with 25 years of nonprofit executive management experience specializing in organizational development, capacity building, program design, advocacy and fundraising. Her long and successful career includes consulting with a variety of social services agencies including Crisis Nursery, East and West Valley Child Crisis Centers, Community Bridges, National Association of Foster Care Reviewers, Alpine Resources and Christian Family Care Agency. She was honored to spearhead the Portable Assessments for Kids project, a collaborative partnership between Phoenix's major children's crisis shelters to improve outcomes for children in shelter through creation of transferable comprehensive standardized assessments.

As Executive Director of AASK-AZ, Aid to Adoption of Special Kids, Rachel completed a $4 million capital campaign to create the Lodestar Family Connections Resource Center for foster and adoptive families of children with special needs. During her 14-year tenure, the agency grew into a $3 million statewide organization with a national reputation for developing cutting-edge programs and collaborations designed to improve and support child welfare services.

Native to Arizona and raised in Tucson, Rachel earned a MS in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Arizona in 1978. Actively involved in the community, she has served on many boards and committees including the Child Welfare League of America and the National Adoption Exchange Association. Presently, she sits on the Arizona State Foster Care Review Board, the Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation, Ryan House Board and Mission of Mercy Leadership Council.

Rachel was profiled in Angels of Arizona in 2001, was recognized as a Jewel Award Finalist in 2000 for her volunteer and community contributions and was named to Who's Who in Executives and Businesses in 2000. She is a member of Phoenix Valley Leadership, the Junior League of Phoenix, Arizona Town Hall and the Alliance for Nonprofit Management.