The New 97.7 Woman Of The Week - Week Of October 15, 2018
Name: Rachael Rollins
From: Boston, MA
About Woman Of The Week: Rachael was born into a large, multi-cultural family. She is the oldest of five children, has a 14 year old daughter, and she has custody and guardianship of her 5 and 9 year old nieces. She attended Buckingham Browne and Nichols and prior to graduating from high school in 1989, was selected onto an Elite New England School Girls Lacrosse Team. Immediately after graduating in 1994, Rachel went to Northeastern University School of Law. After graduating in 1997, she clerked for one year on the Massachusetts Appeals Court and then went to Georgetown University Law Center where she obtained her Masters in Law. While there, she worked for the National Football League Players Association.
After graduating from Georgetown in 1999, Rachael came back to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to work as a Field Attorney at the National Labor Relations Board in Boston. The NLRB safeguards employees’ rights to organize and to determine whether to have unions as their collective bargaining representatives. There, she conducted elections, acted as a hearing officer, investigated unfair labor practices and prosecuted violations of the National Labor Relations Act. She fought for rights of worker’s, many of them poor, undocumented, people of color.
In 2007, Rachael joined the United States Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts as an Assistant United States Attorney. As an AUSA, she was responsible for prosecuting and defending a variety of cases ranging from fraud to employment discrimination, from forfeiture to sexual violence and child abuse (Adam Walsh), from gun trafficking and narcotics cases to assisting with public integrity matters.
In 2011, Rachael Rollins received a call asking her to join Governor Deval Patrick’s administration as the first person of color to serve as the General Counsel of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Six months later, the Board of Directors voted to have her also become the first female General Counsel of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA).
In 2013, she was recruited to become the Chief Legal Counsel of the Massachusetts Port Authority. While at Massport she worked to increase the minimum wage at Logan Airport well before the wage was raised in the Commonwealth and personally oversaw and led the 12+ month internal and external NTSB investigation into a plane crash that resulted in 7 deaths.
Rachael was accepted into and attended a 6+ month intense, change management and leadership program at Harvard Business School, where she focused her attention on incentivizing change when there is a monopoly (like in government).
After she graduated from the program at Harvard Business School, she was ready to take on the world. Then, her world suddenly took a turn for the worst and she was diagnosed with breast cancer. For the next 18+ months, she underwent treatment and multiple surgeries. By the grace of God she is now completely healthy and cancer free, but that diagnosis deeply impacted Rachael and her families life. She realizes that every day is a gift and she chose to work only on the things that matter most to her. She is fully committed to becoming the next District Attorney of Suffolk County and changing the criminal justice system.
Congratulations to Rachael Rollins, our New 97.7 Woman Of The Week!
Get details on how you, or someone you know, can be our next Woman Of The Week here!