Canada-based social policy expert, bilingual speaker, and community advocate with over two decades of experience in public policy, equity and diversity — in Canada and the USA.
Rachel Décoste is a recovering software engineer and social policy expert from Ottawa, Canada. She earned her bachelors at the University of Guelph, and her Masters in Public Administration from The George Washington University.
A proud polyglot, Rachel credits her immigrant parents for instilling in her a lifelong commitment to community advocacy and social justice.
Her activism began early — tutoring children through the Children’s Aid Society, campaigning to save the Montfort Hospital, and engaging with organizations like the Famous 5 Foundation and the Black Canadian Scholarship Fund.
In 2008 and again in 2012, Rachel joined the electoral team for Senator Barack Obama‘s presidential campaigns. She later lived and worked in Washington, DC, where she directed a national bipartisan technology education initiative on behalf of the United States Congress.
Rachel was named one of Ottawa’s Top 50 Personalities by Ottawa Life magazine in 2010, and one of the Top 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women in 2018. She has lectured on diversity and inclusion at top universities across Canada and the USA, and has delivered anti-Black racism workshops for corporations and firms across North America.
A DNA test led Rachel on a 6-month odyssey to her ancestral lands in West Africa — an experience she documented in her forthcoming memoir, The Jollof Journey.
After a distinguished career in the federal public service, Rachel is offering consulting services — bringing her policy expertise, cultural authority, and plain-spoken clarity to organizations ready to build more equitable, informed workplaces.
● Ottawa Top 50 Personalities — Ottawa Life, 2010
● Top 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women, 2018
● Obama Campaign Organizer, 2008 & 2012
● US Congressional tech education program executive
● 150+ opinion pieces in Huffington Post, Ottawa Citizen, Calgary Herald, Le Droit & Metro
● Quoted in the Washington Post & Radio-Canada
● CBC, CTV, Radio-Canada, VOA & C-SPAN appearances
● Chicken Soup for the Soul, 2021
● Cited in 20+ academic works
● Artificial Intelligence Ethics
● Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
● Anti-Racism & Bias Awareness
● Black Canadian & West African History
● Immigration Policy & Acculturation
● Career Coaching & Resume Writing
● Grant Writing for Nonprofits
● Memoir Critique & Ghostwriting
A selection of published articles in English and French (2011–2016):
● Upside Down: When International Aid Flows From Africa To The West — Huffington Post, May 2016
● Little Black Lies: When Blacks Agree with Bigots — ByBlacks, February 2016
● Pope Francis’ Criticism Of ‘New Colonialism’ Disregards Africa’s Past — Huffington Post, November 2015
● Fairness Falls Short: Carding Continues in Canada — Huffington Post, June 2015
● A Black James Bond: Advancement or Albatross? — Huffington Post, March 2015
● Five Frightening Facts about Sir John A. Macdonald — Huffington Post, January 2015
● The Ugly Truth About Canadian Immigration — Huffington Post, February 2014
● Canadian Media Mangled Mandela’s Legacy — Huffington Post, December 2013
● Why There are No Black Players on Argentina’s Roster— Huffington Post, 2014
● Blackface is a Black Eye to Canadian Values — Huffington Post, 2013
● The Most Discriminatory Laws in Canadian History — Huffington Post, 2013
En français:
● Le monde à l’envers: quand les Africains viennent à la rescousse de l’Occident — Huffington Post Québec, mai 2016
● Je me souviens… du blackface made-in-Québec — Huffington Post Québec, février 2016
● La langue de bois d’ébène — Huffington Post Québec, mars 2015
● Scandale au Forum de Montréal — Huffington Post Québec, décembre 2013
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● 2009 — CBC Power and Politics with Evan Solomon. American presidential election.
● 2009 — RDI. 24/60 avec Anne-Marie Dussault. Visite du Président Obama à Ottawa.
● 2011 — CBC News. Power and Politics. Haiti quake — one year later.
● 2012 — CBC Newsworld. Obama re-election campaign team in Michigan.
● 2013 — CTV Ottawa. City Hall diversity issues.
● 2013 — Rogers TV. Entre Nous interview.
● 2015 — CTV Culture Shock. Rachel Dolezal’s shifting racial identity.
● 2015 — CTV Culture Shock. Police brutality and race.
● 2015 — CTV News The Mix. Federal election discussion.
● 2015 — CBC. Rachel’s tweet makes national news.
● 2016 — CTV Ottawa. Black Lives Matter protests in the USA.
● 2017 — C-SPAN. Internet Policy Conference, Washington DC.
● 2017 — CBC. Canadian military history and people of colour.
● 2017 — VOA Washington Forum. Immigration policy.
● 2017 — CTV. Police in schools, assaulting children.
● 2018 — Radio-Canada. Racial justice progress 50 years after Martin Luther King.
● 2018 — Radio-Canada. New bank note featuring a Black woman.
● 2020 — CBC News. Haiti — ten years after the earthquake.
● 2021 — George Floyd verdict and racial justice in the USA and Canada.
● 2021 — Radio-Canada. The word BIPOC in French.