Rachel Jackson

Director of Operations, Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute

Rachel Jackson has been with the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute since it was founded in 2003.  Over the last twenty years, she has served in a number of different roles supporting the growth and development of HRI.  She now provides leadership for the operations of the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute and the Dodd Impact programs, including financial management; providing guidance on planning and implementation of academic, research and outreach programs and events; and advising on personnel, policies, planning and strategies.

Before joining the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute, Rachel served as an AmeriCorps *VISTA with the Jumpstart program at the University of Pittsburgh and supported the Sociology department at the Graduate Faculty of New School University.

Advocacy Efforts
Since having children of her own, Rachel has realized the intersection of her personal interests in maternal health, childbirth practices ,and breastfeeding with her professional and research interests in human rights.

After being confronted by a lack of breastfeeding accommodations when called for jury duty, Rachel began working with the Connecticut Breastfeeding Coalition (CBC). She joined their efforts to pass a bill addressing the issue of jury duty and breastfeeding mothers. The result of the efforts was the bill, SB 194, signed into law by Governor Malloy on May 31, 2012, which requires that the Judicial Branch maintain a website with information for breastfeeding women on their ability to postpone jury service and information about the accommodations that can be made for breastfeeding mothers who wish to report for jury duty. Additionally, jury administration is now required to provide training to their staff on the needs of breastfeeding mothers who have been summoned for jury duty and work with mothers to provide reasonable accommodation when they report for jury duty.

Rachel received an award from the Connecticut Breastfeeding Coalition on October 9, 2012 in recognition of her contributions to the health of Connecticut’s mothers and children through her advocacy and testimony on behalf of the 2012 Senate Bill 194: An Act Concerning Jury Duty for Breastfeeding Mothers.

Rachel served on the board of directors of the Connecticut Breastfeeding Coalition from 2012-2020 and the board of directors of the UConn Co-op from 2008-2014.