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February 5, 2025

Meet Rachel McDonald, Regional Marketing Manager

"As an advocate for mental health, I work every day as a voice for those disadvantaged and under serviced. The mental health crisis motivates me to strive for a more informed and de-stigmatized world."

Rachel McDonald, Hopewell’s Regional Marketing Manager, has always felt herself drawn to working with vulnerable populations. She joined the Hopewell staff after two years working with autistic youth in Cleveland. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Ever since she was younger, she learned the power of community. Growing up in a large family with six older brothers, she was always surrounded by support (not without its difficulties) and was graced with learning how impactful those values are today as an adult. “My family owns a local small business that sells, services, and distributes engines upon which instilled in me an entrepreneurial spirit that further heightened that value of true community. Rachel stated, “I owe everything to and have so much appreciation for my parents.”

During high school, Rachel volunteered in a special needs classroom, on a committee to raise funds to build a facility for adults with mental illness, and at Hamlet Manor, a geriatric nursing facility. Warm, compassionate, and high energy, her positive spirit helps motivate the people she works with to achieve their best and try new things. But her long-term goal was law school. Merging her two interests was a challenge to be explored.

First, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in business for a great basic education. An MBA followed and she expected to find work to raise funds to pursue her law degree dream. During her studies, she was exposed to health care law and health care management, both of which piqued her interest.

Working with Autistic Youth

Rachel said, “Typically, hospitals look for management candidates who have had direct experience in health care. I felt comfortable working with a geriatric population or with special needs youth.” This led her to Bellefaire JCB where she accepted a position as a Youth Autism Specialist.

“This was a hard job at a great organization,” Rachel continued. “There were a lot of clients with co-occurring autism, behavioral issues, and mental health disorders. We worked on everything from activities of daily living, getting kids ready for school, helping prepare meals, and teaching coping skills. The number one job was to keep kids safe from themselves and others, and to keep staff safe, too.”

Rachel then trained to become a Therapeutic Behavior Specialist and over time she made her way up to a supervisor role with a caseload, where she worked with clients and their families. “It made it real to see an individual and how they fit into the family system. I gained a ‘therapeutic brain’ through working with families on a deeper level.”

As a direct care professional, Rachel was often the first one in a crisis. She remembered, “It was physically and mentally challenging to protect yourself and others, keep your composure, stay calm, and keep your ‘therapeutic brain’ on at all times to help clients process their emotional deregulation. On the flip side, we did a lot of fun activities, went on trips, danced, played, and tried to make sure that they had a childhood even though they were in a residential facility. I will be eternally grateful to have been a part of an organization helping to change the lives of individuals who would not have been given a chance otherwise. I witnessed a few kids move on, and how they grew was humbling.”

Outreach at Hopewell

Rachel found herself ready to explore new career opportunities and again asked herself how she could couple her business background and health care experience. “Then the outreach role showed up at Hopewell and it emphasized community, building relationships, spreading the word about the services we provide and helping those in need of treatment know that there is a more holistic option out there. It just felt right. Hopewell is more than just a therapeutic farm, it is a way of life that encompasses everything intrinsic about being human. Community, support, nature, meaningful work, and joy are just some of the things that make Hopewell so great.”

As an outreach manager, Rachel works on building, maintaining, and sustaining relationships in the immediate community around Hopewell and the region encompassing Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Michigan. “It is fulfilling to tell people about Hopewell and the services we provide. Before Hopewell, I did not know about therapeutic communities. My role encompasses educating clinicians and counseling programs to let them know we are an option. We want to be sure that we are the right fit for prospective residents.”

Another aspect of Rachel’s position is being a member of Hopewell’s admissions team. She takes incoming calls from families in crisis and shares our options for their loved one’s mental health care. “Hearing the heartaching situations that families are going through motivate me and reminds me why what we do is so significant”

Part of outreach also includes connecting Hopewell staff with programs, hospitals, and clinicians who offer services in mental and behavioral health. When residents are ready to move on, clinicians have more options to offer for aftercare services. “A big part of my job is being a good referral partner to other programs. We provide discharge options for Hopewell’s clinical team and help them find a therapist, medical providers, and future care based on the individual resident’s needs, wishes and goals.”

Hopewell is part of GCR (Give Connect Receive) Networking, which coordinates lunches for mental health professionals to connect and share resources. Rachel explained, “Lunches, dinners and facility tours happen all over the regions. We therefore have more resources to share client-centered resources with families. This includes lunch and learns where I speak to clinicians and explain our services and how we can mutually benefit our clients.

Yet another part of Rachel’s job is developing social media content and marketing materials. She’s the person behind weekly “Meet a Team Member” Monday about our fabulous staff, and she has a camera at the ready for Hopewell Happenings posts about interesting things happening on the farm.

Some of her marketing is representing Hopewell at events such the NAMI walk, when residents, staff, and families did the walk as a group. She also represents Hopewell at regional conferences of the NASW (National Association of Social Workers), the AOCC (All Ohio Counselors Conference), and the Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services Conference. She is also part of the Employee Appreciation Committee, where she helps plan events to celebrate and appreciate our internal community and is part of our CIA Committee (Collaboration, Innovation, and Action). ‘I love being involved in these committees! We must take care of our own,” she said.

The Hopewell Effect

“I always say that everyone at Hopewell – board members, staff, residents, animals, even delivery people – everyone gets level of respect that you don’t get outside of Hopewell. We are a therapeutic community and it’s transformative when you come to campus. First time visitors even feel the effect that Hopewell has on anyone. We don’t define anyone by their diagnosis which is extremely important for someone who has only been defined that way. Everyone wants to feel normal, and everyone is met where they are at and accepted.”

When asked about a Hopewell memory, Rachel recalled, “Before the holidays, residents wanted to have a karaoke day. I like to keep the energy high and fun, so I found some random karaoke on YouTube. Residents brought cookies and hot cocoa and we took turns singing karaoke with battery powered microphones. The acuity of the residents did not matter. It was a very neutral, safe space and we had a blast. A resident who does not like to talk sang because that was easier. We all sang ‘Sweet Caroline,’ and then learned Elton John’s ‘Daniel,’ which we recorded and sent to our Clinical Director, Daniel Horne. It took 20 minutes, and it brought so much joy. It was awesome.”

Finding Joy

When it comes to her spare time, Rachel described herself as “an old soul. I enjoy the Cleveland Browns, sports, laughter (as it is the best medicine), music from the 40’s til current, and fishing. I can find a pond anywhere for the sport of it and for being outside. Another thing that brings me joy is helping my family in any way I can. A future goal is raising a family. . . someday!”

Thank you, Rachel, for bringing your positive energy to everything you do!