Rachel has spent 17 years in the academia and public sector fields specializing for the last 10 years in Human Resources. Rachel has worked for 6 years as a subject matter expert (SME) for a compensation structure for over 30,000 employees. Over a year ago, she successfully transitioned from being a SME to being the Director of the Classification and Compensation for all Wisconsin State employees, not including academia. The journey from SME to leader took patience, perseverance, and fortitude. Now, her goal is to help others to learn the secret of a successful transition from working as an analyst to managing a team and directives. Rachel currently has the SHRM-CP and a Master’s of Arts in Human Resources management Strategic Planning from Concordia University.