Rachel Oatis

Rachel Oatis is determined to equip and educate the next generation of leaders in her hometown of Louisiana. She aspires to fix the educational achievement gap in the South through social impact philanthropy.

Oatis is a proud graduate of Spelman College, where she earned her B.A. in Political Science and obtained high academic honors of Phi Beta Kappa during her senior year. She has held positions at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Washington National Cathedral, and the District Office of Congressman John Lewis and Cedric Richmond. During her time at Columbia, Oatis was a HBCU Fellow at the School of Professional Studies where she studied to obtain her M.S. in Nonprofit Management. She served as a Curation Officer for TEDxColumbiaUniversity and hosted their 2019 conference. She was a committee member of the Graduate Initiative Advisory Committee under Columbia’s Office of University Life that served to bring a voice to issues on diversity and inclusion for graduate students at Columbia.

During her SPS graduation, Oatis was recommended by faculty and staff to serve as the Nonprofit Management Student Marshal where she led her class processional and she was named the 2019 Campbell Awardee for the School of Professional Studies. An award presented by the Columbia Alumni Association to a graduating student at each Columbia affiliated school who has demonstrated a commitment to building Columbia University community and pride. She was recognized for diligently mentoring and recruiting students from HBCUs for the Columbia HBCU Fellowship