Rachael Thrash | Belonging, Strategy Engagement, and Curricular Integration

Rachael Thrash helps schools build inclusive cultures that harness all voices for shared progress. With more than two decades of experience as an educational leader, writer, and facilitator, she partners with schools to translate the latest research and best practices into actionable plans for today’s learners.

As an educational leader at Waynflete School and the International School of Helsinki, Rachael led the development of schoolwide systems that support educator and learner agency. She is also the co-founder of Belong Hub, an educational startup that equips schools with tools to strengthen student leadership and school culture.

Rachael is the co-author of Cultivating Connections that Matter, a professional learning course from ECIS, and the author of the forthcoming book, Lead Together: Empowering Student Voice to Co-Create School Culture, from Routledge Press. She has contributed to a range of industry publications like The International Educator, International School Leader Magazine, and Childhood Education.

Rachael serves as a Bespoke Training Facilitator for ECIS and as a Lead Contributor to the International Antidiscrimination Task Force. At the Big Questions Institute, among her contributions is helping schools implement their strategic plans by guiding educators through collaborative planning. Her work builds capacity and strengthens teaching and learning across the school.

A graduate of Middlebury College and Brown University, Rachael, she currently lives in Silver Spring, Maryland with her spouse and their two young-adult children, her favorite collaborators!