About Rachel

Rachel's genuine interest in her community has inspired her to be the active citizen that she is in Mesquite. As demonstrated below, she is greatly involved in the educational, spiritual, civic, social and, most importantly, family aspects of her life.

Professional Experience:

BA History, University of Dallas.

BS Rehabilitation Counseling, UT Southwestern Medical Center Allied Health School at Dallas.

MSW, Master of Social Work, Administration and Community Practice, University of Texas at Arlington.

Occupation:

Sr. Vocational Field Care Manager with Broadspire for 6 years, providing Vocational services to clients throughout the state of Texas who are receiving Worker's Compensation or who are on Long-Term Disability. Perform Labor Market Surveys and reports/assessments for various Broadspire and Crawford Company client accounts. Experience working in Third Party Administrator Insurance industry for 16+ years.

Boards and Commissions:

• Parks and Recreation Advisory Board/Tree Board
• St. Pius X School Advisory Board

Organizational Memberships:

• Founder and current President, Hispanic Forum of Mesquite
• Mesquite Service League
• Mesquite Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association
• Mesquite Fire Department Fire Corps

Civic Accomplishments:

Community Leadership
Rachel Lopez has been a resident of Mesquite since 1991. She has been actively involved in various aspects of her community. She participated as a member, and currently organizes, various neighborhood crime-watch, social and informational events and activities for the Tealwood Club Crime-Watch program in her subdivision.

Rachel's passion for civic and community involvement led her to complete a Legislative Internship with Texas State Senator Royce West in 1999, as part of her graduate studies. This internship led her to experience the legislative process as she assisted the Chiefs of Staff, not only in the Dallas office, but also at the Texas State Capitol, in completing various tasks and activities associated with the legislative session. Rachel was sent out to represent Senator West at various functions, presenting Proclamations on his behalf, as well as handling cases and assisting with resolving issues of Senator West's constituents in District 23. Rachel continues to work with Senator West in a volunteer capacity, as she is called on an annual basis, to serve as an Interviewer for the Dr. Emmett J. Conrad Leadership Program for college students. She has also participated in the program's Rap Session, where interns interact with professionals to obtain advice and guidance in their respective career paths.

Hispanic Forum of Mesquite
Rachel is the founder and current president of the Hispanic Forum of Mesquite. She works closely with various city agencies and departments, providing services and assistance as-needed within the city. Through the Hispanic Forum, Rachel has organized this group to assist with translation services at the Santa Cop program at Mesquite H.S. and has, over the past 2 years, organized the Hispanic Forum Toy Drive to assist with toy donations for this program. Under her leadership, Forum members have organized and presented the city's first Cinco de Mayo celebration at Evan's Recreation Center in both 2006 and 2007.

Active Leaders Inspired by a Vision of Excellence (ALIVE)
Rachel was a member of the first class of the 2006 ALIVE (Active Leaders Inspired by a Vision of Excellence) program through the Mesquite Independent School District. She was a presenter at North Mesquite High School's Educational Symposium where she discussed the importance of higher education, as well as offered suggestions on how to achieve one's goals. Students attending the Symposium were predominantly Hispanic and/or in the Bilingual program at this school. Rachel has served in the capacity of presenter/information disseminator within MISD over the past several years. She was a member of the 2007 Bond Election Steering Committee for Mesquite ISD.

Community Relations Liaison
Rachel is the Community Relations Liaison for Divine Mercy of our Lord Catholic Church, where she is a member. Rachel has participated in and continues to organize her church community in various city events such as Addressing Mesquite Day, Mesquite Rodeo Parade and Blue Sunday Mass. She is a member of the School Advisory Council at St. Pius X Catholic School, where her son attends.

Community Events
Rachel has participated in various community events offering countless volunteer hours in events/activities such as Christmas in the Park, Mesquite Police deployments, translation services for Mesquite Fire Department at their annual Smoke Detector Campaign event, Mesquite Taste and Trade, Real.Texas.Festival, and the Santa Cop program, to name a few. She participated in and completed the 21st class of the Mesquite Citizen's Police Academy in 2005, and participated in and completed the first class of the Mesquite Citizen's Fire Academy in 2006. She is an active member in both the Mesquite Citizen's Police Academy Alumni Association, as well as the newly formed Mesquite Fire Department's Fire Corps.

Youth Athletics
Rachel has assisted her spouse in their son's passion for soccer, serving as team manager for the Viper's Soccer team for over 9 years. As part of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, Rachel currently serves on the Athletic Committee of the Mesquite Parks and Recreation Department.