Director

Dear Community Member,

My name is Rachel Rockwell. I am the Executive Director of Culture Inc. As a young woman, distracted by so many things, education was the last thing on my mind. I myself would have been considered “at risk”. In my first year of high school I became a teen parent. Although I acquired my GED and began attending Coe College, single parenthood overwhelmed me, and I failed to see my education through.

I took a long hiatus from formal education–seven years to be exact. The real-life education I received instead was one whose lessons I repeatedly tried to share with my son. I would talk to him about how if I had it to do all over again, I would never have stopped pursuing my education. I shared with him how difficult it is to be poor. I explained how not having enough money to pay the bills usually results in bad credit. I let him know that bad credit means everything you need and sometimes just want comes at a higher price. I wanted him to know that through education there is power and knowledge to overcome many unnecessary obstacles.

As it came closer to the time when my son would be looking forward to graduating from high school, I decided it was time to put my money where my mouth was. I enrolled at Grandview College and decided to complete my Bachelor’s degree. The coursework at Grandview has opened my life to many opportunities. After earning my Art Therapy Certificate at Grandview I decided I really wanted the chance to help people to be their best and to truly impact people’s lives. I sought a career change and found a position as a business coach. As a business coach I facilitated individual and group training with business owners, CEO’s, and managers to help them build their businesses. I have been able to touch hundreds of people by facilitating the building of better businesses and creating better lives for owners and their employees.

The combined experience of my education and coaching led me to revive a 15 year old dream that fit perfectly with my newfound passion. Culture Inc., a non-profit afterschool arts center, was born. 2008. I have truly found my niche, understand my talents, and have connected with my passion. I have the ability to, and take pleasure in, building relationships with people of all different backgrounds. Culture Inc. and its vision are so much bigger than me, bigger than its employees, board members, volunteers and the community. Only through bringing all those entities together with a clear intent to positively impact our youth and our future will we see and understand how grand a vision this is!

Looking forward to a bright shared future,

Rachel Rockwell
Executive Director
cultureincorporated@gmail.com
(515) 771-9674