As featured in the University of Arkansas Clinton Public School of Service Alumni News
February 2021
Rachel Villafane (’20) has joined the Boost Midwest team as a Project Coordinator, leading project success through collaborating with clients to optimize processes and operations. Villafane started her position in early January.
Villafane joins fellow Clinton School graduate Justin Murdock (’20) at Boost Midwest.
“The Clinton School prepared me well for this job,” Villafane said. “My role is all about making projects run smoothly by setting them up well and then reporting on the outcomes of these projects. I draw on the skills I gained from Program Planning and Program Evaluation the most, but I foresee the program's entire curriculum being useful in this position.”
As a Clinton School student, Villafane traveled to the Dominican Republic to work with The DREAM Project, performing an evaluation of the organization's program to increase documentation among Dominican youth. She analyzed program records and conducted interviews and observations to assess the program's outcomes.
Villafane spent seven months working with the founders of Changing Lanes, which aims to improve Little Rock adolescents’ mental health through community-based outdoor adventure therapy, for her Capstone project. She conducted best practice research into youth programming approaches and the factors affecting the outcomes of these programs.
For her Practicum project, Villlafane and a team of first-year students partnered with Children International to conduct interviews and provide key information on programs related to employment training and employment opportunities for young adults.
In addition to her Master of Public Service, Villafane is a graduate of Truman State University with a degree in psychology. She taught math in the Little Rock School District through Teach for America before enrolling at the Clinton School.