Rachel Otwell
Rachel's reports currently focus on education and equity. She's also reported extensively on arts, community & diverse culture.
She's a graduate of the Public Affairs Reporting Program at the University of Illinois Springfield, and while obtaining that degree she spent a legislative session covering news for Illinois Public Radio with a focus on fracking. Rachel also holds degrees in Liberal & Integrative Studies, Women & Gender Studies and African-American Studies. She's tutored Rwandan refugees in Ohio, volunteered at a Kenyan orphanage, served as an activities assistant at a nursing home and volunteered at an elephant sanctuary in Thailand.
Rachel started a career in public media in 2011 when she interned for the National Public Radio program Tell Me More with Michel Martin in Washington, D.C. Her reports have also appeared on NPR, WorkingNow.org, and 51%.
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This month marks a year since the Me Too movement went viral as a hashtag on social media ( after having first been started in 2006 by Tarana Burke. )...
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Athens is a town like many others in central Illinois. With a population of about 2,000, it’s rural, and encapsulated by fields of crops like corn and...
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States like Hawaii, South Dakota and Alaska have replaced Columbus Day with the designation of ' Indigenous Peoples’ Day .' It's a trend that goes back...
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Sam McCann is a man on a mission: to see Republican Governor Bruce Rauner end his reign in 2019. He's taking that head on, by running for the state's...
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The next debate for Illinois nominees for governor is this Wednesday in Chicago. But two candidates are being left out this time around.
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There are two third party candidates for Illinois governor. And while four names will be on the ballot November 6th (or now, if you choose to vote early...
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A fiddling duo is playing Civil War era tunes on the Old State Capitol plaza in downtown Springfield. Near them is a log cabin on wheels (well,...
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The Illinois Governor’s Mansion is recently renovated and has re-opened for tourists, who tend to go for the historical significance. There’s also a new...
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It was announced on Tuesday that Innovate Springfield , a business incubator and social innovator that started four years ago, is now partnered with the...
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It's been 110 years since the 1908 Race Riot erupted in Springfield. The violence and its aftermath inspired the founding of the NAACP , the prominent...