Rachel O’Connell is an educator in Houston, Texas, where she works to support higher education access for refugee youth and displaced persons. She is passionate about streamlining international policy implementation and enhancing outcomes as they relate to education equity. Rachel believes that the power of education can change entire communities, and every child deserves the right of equitable access to succeed. Born and raised in Pakistan, she soon became impassioned to contribute to a dialogue of education equity and opportunity in international communities with limited access to formal education. After gaining her Masters of Science in Education at the University of Pennsylvania, Rachel had the honor of being featured in the Graduate School of Education’s newsletter for her graduate work in education equity initiatives for first-generation low-Income college students. She is currently continuing her work at the Partnership for Advancement and Immersion of Refugees, a nonprofit organization geared towards improving education access and success for the largest population of refugee youth in the United States. In addition to working, she volunteers for an education nonprofit, Momentum Education, and has been working on a funded research project tracking geographic education enrollment amongst low income youth in Philadelphia. She hopes to continue her work in International Education Policy and contribute to positive development in equitable education access for international populations, particularly for immigrant and displaced persons.