Rachel grew up in rural Nebraska and was introduced early to travel by annual family road trips across the country and a year studying abroad in Tokyo. She earned a B.A. in Psychology at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, then a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. It was in Hawaii that she took up photography. Since then, her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and has earned awards from National Geographic and the International Photography Awards (IPA), among others.

Rachel is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of San Diego, and enjoys exploring ways to make science more accessible and exciting to the public through imagery and storytelling.