Get to know Rachel Modica-Russell!
Rachel with daughter Simone, son Quincy, and wife Alice!
Get to know our team! This month, Jess will be sharing an interview with each of the Hendy team members to help you get to know us better. Click here to read Jess’s interview with Jeremy Abarno. Next up, our newest team member Rachel Modica-Russell! Rachel joined the team in May 2023 after serving as Managing Director of Talent at Explore Schools. Rachel was also a member of Hendy’s first Chief Talent Officer cohort. Read on to get to know Rachel.
You’ve worked with many clients in your two years at Hendy. What is one project you’ve found most interesting?
I don’t get the sense that what you’re looking for is me to respond with an, “ALL of them!” but that’s genuinely how I feel 🙂. In my two years with the Hendy team, I’ve supported work across performance evaluation practices, AI learning, skill-building, and compensation strategies. One project that particularly resonated with me was helping PAVE Academy in Brooklyn develop a compensation philosophy that would both capture their current approach and guide future efforts to compensate staff equitably and competitively.
What made this work special was the PAVE team’s thoughtfulness and their unwavering belief that students should be at the center of all decision-making. They deeply understand the critical role excellent educators and staff play in fulfilling their mission. This project aligned with what I’ve built my career around—creating the organizational infrastructure that attracts, retains, and enables staff to thrive while doing incredibly demanding work. Helping PAVE weave their organizational values into their compensation practices was so meaningful, and I’m grateful to have supported them at this pivotal point in their journey.
Your work supporting PAVE to incorporate their organizational values into their compensation practices is a great example of how the work that our clients do reflects what they deeply care about. You’ve accomplished a lot with your clients; what is one accomplishment you are most proud of?
One accomplishment I’m particularly proud of is how I’ve helped organizations translate their values into tangible policies and practices. At Hendy, I’ve worked with several clients to build systems that don’t just look good on paper but actually create environments where talented practitioners want to grow in and stay over time.
What makes this meaningful is seeing the ripple effects—when an organization implements more equitable compensation practices or creates more effective evaluation systems, it directly impacts staff retention and satisfaction, which ultimately benefits students. Though the impact isn’t always immediately measurable, the feedback from clients about how our work has transformed their approach to talent management confirms we’re moving in the right direction. Building these bridges between organizational values and day-to-day practices is where I find the most pride in my work.
What’s your favorite part about working with the Hendy team and our clients?
It is such a privilege working alongside such talented educators, leaders, and strategists in our field. I take great comfort and pride in the fact that our team and clients are aligned around a shared mission to improve educational outcomes and opportunities for students.
What I treasure most about the Hendy team is the authentic way we show up for each other. Check-ins with Hendy teammates are this beautiful combination of celebrating personal and professional milestones, supporting one another through challenges, and providing consultative services to each other—we pack a lot into our weekly hour together! The blend of expertise, humor, and genuine care creates an environment where the work feels meaningful and sustainable, even when facing complex challenges in education.
Rachel, you are such a critical part of our team culture – you bring such joy to those weekly meetings! What might people not know about you?
Silly: I am not a boardgame person, at ALL. Am I playful? Yes! Do I love to connect with people? Yes! Will I willingly opt into rules and parameters as part of my free time? Never.
Editor’s note: Jess loves boardgames and so had to promise Rachel not to incorporate games into our next team retreat.
More sincere: I was the first kid in my immediate family to graduate from a four-year college. Since then, I’ve had the joy of cheerleading a sibling and both of my parents as they continue their respective educational journeys. Education has always been incredibly important to my family; we read and wrote often, debated endlessly, and were given lots of space to explore, play, and question as kids. It’s been profoundly moving to watch my parents reactivate their own educational pursuits after long careers and years of prioritizing our well-being and opportunities. Their journey reinforces my belief in education as a lifelong pursuit that can transform at any stage.
It’s so important to take inspiration from those around us, especially in challenging times. Work in education right now is difficult – what keeps you going?
My kids, your kids, all kids. Now more than ever, I feel compelled to address the hard questions related to staffing and sustaining schools. What drives me daily is the vision of schools filled with compassionate, prepared, and well-resourced adults who create spaces where all students can thrive, learn, and be academically challenged.
When the work gets particularly difficult, I remind myself that every policy we help craft, every leader we coach, or system we refine ultimately creates better conditions for students. The educational inequities in our system aren’t inevitable—they’re the result of choices, and I believe deeply in our ability to make different, better choices that create more equitable outcomes for students. That possibility is what keeps me going, even on the toughest days.
Thank you, Rachel, for sharing more about you and your work! Our team and clients are grateful for the commitment and joy you bring to our work every day.