Rachel Hirsch

Senior Policy Analyst

Rachel Hirsch serves as a senior policy analyst for the Economic Opportunity Division of the National Governors Association’s Center for Best Practices, where she works to assist states in scaling and strengthening best practices in postsecondary education and workforce development. Her areas of focus include work-based learning and apprenticeship, sector partnerships and industry engagement, supportive services for those with barriers to employment, and reskilling and upskilling for adults.

Before working at NGA, Rachel was state network manager at National Skills Coalition. There, she led the organization’s first-ever policy academy on work-based learning. She organized multiple statewide coalitions towards achieving policy impacts in expanding access to and success in education and training programs. Earlier in her career, Rachel ran a research project based out of Northwestern University focused on helping underserved high school youth improve their performance in job interviews. During graduate school, Rachel also held an internship on the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Rachel received her Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University and her Bachelor of Arts in communication studies from Northwestern University.

Rachel originally hails from Illinois.