Rachel Nave-Lewis serves as the Assistant Director of Curriculum and Instructional Design for the Appalachian State GEAR UP Partnership. As part of this multi-million dollar federal grant, Rachel consults with 10 districts in the northwestern region of NC in areas of academics, strategic planning, retention, and teacher development. With an undergraduate degree in music education from Appalachian State, Rachel continued her own personal education with master’s degrees in curriculum and instruction and administrative leadership from Gardner-Webb. She is a National Board Certified Teacher and thoroughly enjoys working with educators to build reflective practices, efficacy, and active learning classrooms. As a community member in Ashe County, NC, Rachel strives to advocate for rural schools systems, families, and local workforce development.