Rachel Parker

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Theatre & Media Arts (with an emphasis in Stage Management) from Brigham Young University, and both a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Arts Administration and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Southern Utah University.

Rachel was the Director of Arts Administration at Southern Utah University for a decade, where she steered the program into unprecedented growth and success. She now spends her time where her heart is: in the classroom, helping students become advocates for the arts.

Rachel has worked in numerous arts administrative roles at various types of arts organizations, including the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival (Cedar City, UT), the Tony Award-winning National Theatre of the Deaf (Hartford, CT), Inter-Borough Repertory Theatre Ensemble (New York City, NY), Utah Symphony & Utah Opera (Salt Lake City, UT), The Sundance Film Institute (Salt Lake City, UT), Handcart Theatre (New York City, NY), the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery (Cedar City, UT), and the Nevada Arts Council (Carson City, NV).

When not teaching at SUU, Rachel works as a consultant for non-profit arts organizations, and serves on various committees and councils at the department, college, and university level. She has served on the Board of the Southern Utah Museum of Art locally, and nationally as both the Arts Leadership Chair and the Vice Chair of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region VIII, and on various committees of the Board of the Association of Arts Administration Educators.