Rachel Hatch serves as COO of Institute for the Future (www.iftf.org). For 55+ years, IFTF has pursued the mission of helping organizations, communities, and leaders become future-ready. Their vision is to systematically leverage futures thinking to create more equitable and sustainable societies.
Previously, she directed the IFTF Cities Lab where she co-authored “The Futures Edge for Cities: a Twenty-Year View of Future Forces Affecting Urban Life” for United Cities & Local Governments. Recent talks include keynoting the Resilient Cities Network North America convening, and a keynote on Future Forces Affecting the Philanthropic Sector (2023-2033) for the Institute for Trustees. This year, she is engaging in Foresight Essentials trainings include building foresight capacity with grantees of the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation’s U.S. Democracy Program, grantees of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, grantees of Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s Opportunity Youth program, and training mayors through the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Rachel returns to IFTF after five years in philanthropy serving as Senior Program Officer for The McConnell Foundation where she developed and launched their newest program area: Community Vitality. While there, she learned about public-private partnerships and secured funding sources to support projects in the built environment—ranging from affordable housing to active transportation to urban greening and more. This included funding both at state (California Climate Investments) and federal (New Markets Tax Credits) levels. Rachel was honored to be selected for Council on Foundations’ Career Pathways program to increase diversity in leadership of the sector. Currently serving as Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for California Humanities, Rachel holds masters degrees from Trinity College Dublin and Yale Divinity School. She is the author of “Museum 2040: Citizen Artists & the New Economy” (American Alliance of Museums).
In her community of Redding, California (unceded Wintu land), Rachel is an active member of Co-Lab Shasta, a project of Native Roots Network; particularly the newly forming Shasta Permanent Real Estate Cooperative, whose mission is to build grassroots community and power through cooperative land ownership to support regenerative activities in Shasta County.