Former Student Spotlight - Rachelle Jacobson
Rachelle Jacobson started with the US Commercial Service (CS) / Fargo in 2008 as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) student at University of North Dakota (UND). A native of Tioga, North Dakota, she received her undergraduate degree also from UND in International Studies with focuses in multinational management and world religions. While pursuing her MBA, Rachelle used her time with CS as a focused study and received college credit for her experience. Her MBA was focused on international development. She graduated in 2008. According to Rachelle, the biggest takeaway she had from her time with CS is learning how to communicate with others in a professional organization. “Absorb and observe how the strategy plays out and how these big decisions are part of the broader picture of each organization and industry.”
After graduate school, Rachelle received a scholarship that allowed her to start her career in international development in Washington, DC with the Grameen Foundation. The Grameen Foundation supports local organizations providing microfinance loans to poor women in developing countries. Her focus with this organization was communications, fundraising, and working with donors. In this role, she had the opportunity to travel with donors to meet loan recipients and see the impact of the work firsthand. After her time with the Grameen Foundation, she took on a role with the Training Resource Group (TRG), a consulting firm focused on international development, change management, leadership, and organizational development. She worked on a project team supporting the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) during her time with TRG. The group partnered with the US Agency for International Development and the WHO to support PEPFAR implementation and national and international health strategy coordination throughout Africa and Asia. During this time, she traveled in South Africa, Namibia, Thailand, and the Philippines. After three years with TRG, she spent time with the US State Department in Vietnam where she created a leadership program for local leaders to help confront issues in gender equality.
Rachelle currently works for Sanford Health as their Director of Change Management. She started as a consultant with Sanford in 2015. The Change Management Office was founded in 2017, and Rachelle took over as director in early 2020. This office builds enterprise change capability and drives successful stakeholder adoption in key projects and strategic priorities.
Rachelle currently lives in Fargo with her husband, daughter, and stepdaughter. Her position with CS North Dakota was supported by the North Dakota State Trade Office Export Assistants program.