Rachel Sacks

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The Talmud tells us that to save one life is to save the entire world. Accordingly, Rachel Sacks has saved the world many times over. At the helm of the consulting firm Leading Healthy Futures, she helps health nonprofits get the strategic clarity and grant support they need to fulfill their missions. Through her work in public health, Rachel is helping her clients improve access to healthcare for thousands of vulnerable individuals.

When she's not on the job, you likely can find Rachel extending Jewish hospitality to others: baking challah; having people over for Shabbat or a meal in her sukkah, or hosting a Passover seder with her husband -- something they've done for their 17 years together. Rachel sings regularly at her synagogue, Beth Hillel Bnai Emunah in Wilmette, where she is also honored to be among those who sound the shofar each year on Rosh Hashanah.

AGE:
34

PRIMARY GIG:
President and owner of Leading Healthy Futures

ON THE SIDE:
My hobbies include cooking, especially baking challah and testing out modernist cooking methods like sous vide; enjoying music of all sorts; playing with my nieces and nephews; and rooting for Northwestern sports teams with my fellow Northwestern alum husband, Michael.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS:
Married since 2014 and together since 2003!

DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN 10 WORDS OR LESS:
Writer. Facilitator. Cheese connoisseur. Extrovert. Night owl. Northwestern Wildcat.

A JEW WHO INSPIRES YOU:
Rosalind Franklin is a favorite historical figure of mine. A pioneering chemist in the 1940s and `50s, she was instrumental in discovering the double helix. Yet, due to her death at a tragically young age from ovarian cancer, she did not receive the Nobel Prize for this work. She faced antisemitism and misogyny during her short but brilliant career and made some of the most important and under-acknowledged scientific contributions of the 20th century.

YOUR BEST PIECE OF ADVICE:
My husband and I have a motto: “Be bold with flavor!” This started as an inside joke about avoiding flavorless recipes, but it turns out to be pretty good life advice.