Rachel Bernardo is a third-year student at American University, where she will graduate in 2020 with a B.S. in Public Health and a minor in Biology. She is involved in the Honors in Health Studies Program and hopes to attend medical school after college. She is currently studying abroad in Nairobi, Kenya, where she is taking public health courses through a partnership with the University of Nairobi. She is also interning at a local organization called Lea Toto that serves HIV+ children in Nairobi’s slums through providing medical care, prevention education, counseling, and economic empowerment.

Last summer, Rachel interned for Housing Works, a New York City-based, non-profit fighting AIDS and homelessness. She worked specifically with the PrEP program, striving to increase adherence and retention for the once-daily medication to prevent HIV. Rachel has also volunteered in her local community mentoring middle school students through DC Reads, a program that aims to close the achievement gap in DC Public Schools. Relating to decreasing inequity, Rachel has served as the President for the American University Chapter of United Against Inequities in Disease, where she worked on developing a program to teach health literacy classes to low-income areas in DC.

Caroline is a recent graduate of the College of Charleston where she studied Political Science with a minor in International Studies and Geography. While at Charleston, Caroline studied Modern Standard Arabic and dedicated her senior year to writing a thesis about the different peace and security outcomes of the Arab Spring of 2010. She is passionate about the social, cultural, and political dynamics of the Middle East and North Africa and is interested in pursuing a career in research and policy related to the region.

Caroline currently works as a special projects coordinator for a non-profit with the mission of creating an accessible digital archive of feminist history and scholarship. She is excited to take her passion for international relations and security, coupled with her experience of working to advance women’s rights and education to help Rockflower grow and flourish. Caroline firmly believes that peace and security isn’t possible without the empowerment of women and girls.

Emily Chandler is a marine scientist and educator, who is passionate about science communication and using scientific understanding as a mechanism to empower decision-makers at all levels. A 2017 NOAA Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellow and a member of the staff of the Oceanographer of the Navy, she worked on marine, climate, and Arctic security and policy. At present, Emily works as an oceanographer for the federal government. She has first-hand knowledge of remote communities in the Arctic, Africa and the central Pacific Ocean, who are disproportionately affected by impacts of climate change.

Emily is particularly interested in the impact of climate and environmental changes on communities and societies. Emily’s work with Rockflower began in 2018, when, together with her spouse Taylor Washburn, she led a successful crowdfunding campaign to support S.O.U.L. Foundation in Bujagali Falls, Uganda. Emily and Taylor also visited all Rockflower partner organizations in Uganda (as of 2018) to first-hand the impact that Rockflower funds have had in these communities. From the village of Bujagali Falls to the drought-stricken region of Kasese and the slums of Kampala, they met and learned from the inspirational people that are transforming their communities in the initiatives and organizations they are building. This work strengthened Emily’s conviction that empowering women and girls is a key to advancing peace and security on a global scale.

When not contemplating the realities of environmental change, Emily can be found trying to keep up with Taylor, hiking, skiing, cycling and rowing, and spending time with their wonderful family, friends and yellow lab, Morgan.

Hannah is a senior at American University in Washington, D.C. pursuing a degree in International Studies with a minor in Communications. Hannah is focusing her studies for her major on international development and peace, global security and conflict resolution.

Hannah is a board member for the Northeast Maritime Institute Foundation - a non-profit which seeks to provide scholarship funding for students to further their maritime education and offer community maritime programming. She is currently the president of her university’s chapter of “Nourish International,” which is a nonprofit which partners with international organizations working on sustainable development projects.

Hannah just returned from Brussels, where she spent two months interning for the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA) - an umbrella organization which draws together political leaders, academics, military officials, and diplomats to support NATO. During her time at the ATA, Hannah worked on a project focused on NATO’s Women, Peace and Security Task Force, and had the opportunity to interview NATO’s Special Representative for this Task Force - Clare Hutchinson.

Hannah has a strong passion for helping people within her interpersonal relationships, her community, and on the global scale. She is very excited to help bring Rockflower to Washington, D.C. with the goal of empowering both men and women on American University’s campus.

Francesca is a soon to be graduate of the University of British Columbia, studying Conservation of Natural Resources with a major in Global Perspective. As an avid skier, surfer, and climber, she sees British Columbia as the perfect place to live and study. Francesca has a passion for nature and the environment and can always been found outside. She is also interested in emerging technologies such as Blockchain, and is excited to combine her passion for philanthropy, social enterprise and protection of the natural environment with innovative technologies to help save the planet.

For the past two summers (2017 and 2018) Francesca has been living in El Astillero, Nicaragua working with Casa Congo, an environmental NGO which she was on the initial team who brought the project to life in 2017. Through Rockflower, Francesca raised $5000 to help upgrade a local women’s’ collective, Las Tejedoras’, smoothie and snack shop. She was responsible for implementing and completing this project on the ground in the summer of 2018.This was the second phase of an economic empowerment partnership between Casa Congo and Rockflower which started summer of 2017 with Rockflower giving an initial investment to Las Tejedoras to start their smoothie business. Francesca strongly believes that investing in women and girls is the key to a prosperous global future.

Isabella is a sophomore at Pace University NYC, where she is taking a variety of classes before finalizing her major. She has focused her efforts for Rockflower under the key of Maternal and Reproductive Health because of her particular interest in ensuring mothers and their children get all the help that they need.

Her other interests include participating in and watching all types of sports but ice hockey is her favorite. She is looking forward to finding new ways to contribute to all of Rockflower’s work.

Lulu graduated from NYU's Stern School of Business in December 2019 with co-concentrations in Business Economics and Global Business and a minor in French Studies. Since January 2020, she has been working at a technology startup called Saturn that helps high school students understand their school schedules and connect with friends in their classes.

Lulu is an incoming J.D. candidate at Georgetown University Law Center and will start her 1L year this August (with some classes in person and some on Zoom!). Lulu has been involved with Rockflower for almost four years now and is excited to bring a new perspective to the work through studying law.

The keys she is most interested in are Economic Empowerment and Peace and Security. Lulu's experience with startups and educational background in business contribute to her interest in women's economic empowerment in developing countries, and her future legal studies inform a desire to make an impact in areas of peace and security like property rights.

Rex is a Senior at Tabor Academy, Marion, MA. He loves to watch and participate in a variety of sports and appreciates the connections made through being a team player. He also likes to sing and enjoys being involved in anything that is creative and fun. Rex has a special love of small children and feels an instant connection to their innocent joy.

Having grown up with three older sisters, he was raised to appreciate the importance of gender equality from an early age. He is grateful for the opportunity to contribute whatever he can to improve the lives of women and girls globally through being a part of the Catalyzer Collective.

Taylor is high school mathematics teacher who in his work in boarding schools strives to empower young people as students, athletes, and members of their community. His passion for this work stems from the opportunity to get to know his students as multifaceted individuals and work with them at a time when they are figuring out who they are and how they want to impact the world. Oftentimes, people speak of teachers who inspire their students, but Taylor is attracted to teaching as much for the opportunity to be energized by his students’ passions. In fact, it was his work with two of his former students and current Youth Advisory Board members - Francesca and Lulu Ward - who inspired his interest in Rockflower.

Having had the opportunity to work with  dynamic and inspiring  young women in his career, Taylor is convinced that investing in and empowering young women and girls is the key to the future. Taylor and his fiance, Emily, are excited to partner with Rockflower to promote the Five Keys and support the S.O.U.L. Foundation Deliver With Dignity Campaign.

Beyond teaching, Taylor is most interested in exploring the outdoors in any form with Emily and their yellow lab, Morgan. He can most often be found running, rowing, cycling, or hiking. Taylor and Emily are honored to begin a partnership with Rockflower in celebration of their upcoming wedding.

Connor is a recent graduate of The George Washington University with a degree in mechanical engineering. He is interested in working with sustainable energy systems and does research in tissue engineering and biomaterials. Connor has a keen understanding and appreciation of the need for gender equality and, indeed, during his time as Class Vice President at Tabor Academy, Marion, MA, he consistently strove to foster a more inclusive environment.

Connor is a skier, sailor, and avid outdoorsman. He has enjoyed volunteering for local youth groups as a chaperone on several outdoor expeditions. Connor is looking forward to taking advantage of the unique opportunity of living and studying in Washington DC to promote and spread the message and work of Rockflower.