Rachel Scott is the Director of Development Services for Rockford’s Real Estate Development team. Born in Haiti and raised in New York, Rachel is a Yale University and Harvard Business School graduate. Over the years, Rachel has had a highly-successful career working for companies like Deutsche Bank and CitiGroup.
Rachel credits her mother for providing her with the motivation and gumption to work as hard as she has and does. She says that her mother, “did it all with three girls. She was amazing. I watched her work 100 hours a week to provide for us. Her priority was educating her daughters as best as she could. My mother was my first mentor.”
Rachel considers mentors of all kinds to be important for women’s growth in the working world. “Sometimes, success has to do with who is sponsoring you. I think part of being a leader and a manager is bringing others up with you.” She recalls a time in a previous role, when she was working with an “outstanding and really sharp woman” who kept getting passed up for promotion. Helping that woman achieve a promotion is an experience Rachel now recalls as one of her proudest moments.
Talking specifically about construction and real estate development, industries that have traditionally been male-dominated, Rachel says, “all of the businesses, all of the jobs I’ve had have been male-dominated. After working on Wall Street, I’m used to it.” She continues, talking specifically about Rockford. “There are quite a few women in positions of power here, and I think that permeates throughout the organization. It’s obvious that there is a culture to support what the company values.” She expresses that another reason she was drawn to Rockford was because, “Rockford has a civic focus and a genuine interest in bettering its environment, and the fact that they stand for quality. I wanted to join a company that was best at what it does. Because I always try to learn from the best.”
