An outdoor area with a sidewalk, grass, and several trees. There are bike racks with a bicycle parked and some empty slots. A building covered in green ivy is visible on the left, and the sky is partly cloudy.

Rachel Waltz for Durham County Board of Education

Progressive Vision, Independent Thinker

LET'S CONNECT
A woman with short gray hair, wearing glasses, a black blazer, and a red blouse, smiling at the camera against a plain gray background.

Meet Rachel Waltz

Rachel is a progressive Social Worker who has been serving the Durham community since 2011. She works hard tackling complex social issues and delivers results. Rachel helped Durham’s Veterans find and maintain stable housing. Rachel ran Orange County’s homeless system for over 3 and 1/2 years and found that the most effective and equitable solutions are found by talking to people most directly impacted by the issues. She currently supports local governments in NC and across the US end homelessness through accountable cross-sector partnerships, shared understanding of the most critical and real-time data, tests of change, and centering equity.

In her spare time, Rachel leads EK Powe PTA’s advocacy efforts and serves on the board of a local non-profit organization to address the root causes of poverty. Rachel loves cooking up a storm, hanging out with her wife on the front porch, and trying out new seeds in the garden with her son. Rachel also plays hard, helping found Bike Durham in 2013, sweating it out at the 360 Approach, and running after her son, and rescue pup on Durham’s greatest playgrounds.