Rachel is the Global Head of Inclusive Innovation at Mindshare, leading strategy and innovation for how brands use marketing, media and technology to reshape society for good. She works with global Fortune 500 brands such as Nike, Campari, Unilever, and General Mills to be more intentional in marketing. With Rachel’s leadership, she created a first-of-its kind digital Inclusion Private Marketplace to support journalism for marginalized communities in media. Rachel is passionate about the possibilities of creativity in media for social impact while considering the ethics of how we use – or shouldn’t use- technology. She is also the co-founder of the agency’s global DE&I employee resource group Mindshare Collective.
She has a robust background in culture-driving brand marketing and strategy working with top companies on multi-million dollar global campaigns, including CHANEL, Museum of Modern Art, Unilever, Facebook, Kimberly-Clark, General Mills, Booking.com. A respected industry thought leader, Rachel’s insights have been featured in Ad Age, Adweek, The New York Times, Campaign Magazine, and more. She has been personally honored as one of Business Insider’s 35 Under 35, and The Drum’s “50 Under 30” for her creativity in media.
As a late diagnosed autistic woman, Rachel is a content creator to educate and advocate for autism acceptance and neuroinclusivity in professional environments. On her journey, she became increasingly frustrated by the lack of neurodivergent minds in creative and leadership roles. In response, Rachel has built a community of over 75,000 people across TikTok, LinkedIn, and Instagram, empowering autistic, ADHD, and other neurodivergent leaders to make magic in their careers. Her digital brand @rachelissan connects and empowers other neurodivergent people who don’t feel like they belong as leaders in their respective industries, seeking to make these spaces more neuroinclusive given her unique perspectives as an autistic creative leader.
On The Basis of Code
The increasing impact of black-box algorithms causes a new need for civil rights in the digital world. Media and marketing are wrapped up in the increasing pervasiveness of digital discrimination – but there’s hope to be found and perhaps brands are at the very centre of decoding bias URL to create more equity and inclusion IRL. On The Basis of Code explores the prevalence of algorithm bias in the media and advertising industry and the role brands, technologists, and the private sector play in digital discrimination.
