Rachael Todd was born in Oviedo, Florida. She began dancing at the age of 3 and at the age of 8 she began Irish Step Dancing. At the peak of her competitive years, Rachael competed in the world qualifying competition in Dallas, Texas, for Irish Step Dancing and placed 10th out of 83 competitors in her age group; just 3 places away from qualifying for the world championships in Ireland. As Rachael recalls, “training for something of that caliber taught me incredible lessons of discipline and integrity. If I skipped practicing at home one day, the only person holding me accountable was myself.”
After graduating high school in 2005, Rachael was accepted at the University of Central Florida. While a student at UCF, she was very involved both on and off campus, planning events for The HOPE Foundation, Kappa Delta Sorority, Greek Student Success, and the campus wide Panhellinic Delegation.
Upon graduation from UCF with a Bachelors Degree in Interpersonal Communications and a minor in Legal Studies, Rachael prepared to compete in the Miss Florida Pageant. Rachael competed against 45 other young women from across the state and as a first time competitor, won the title of Miss Florida 2009. During this competition, she won the Preliminary Swimsuit and Newcomer award. Rachael hit the ground running as Miss Florida and within one week of being crowned she landed in Washington, D.C., to attend the National Alliance to End Homelessness’ annual conference.
In addition to being an ex-oficio Board Member for the Florida Peer Network and the youngest nominee for the 11th Annual Outstanding Service to the Homeless for the state of Florida, Rachael has personally presented to over 30,000 people about preventing hunger and homelessness in America.
Rachael’s mission is fueled by her work with HOPE Helps, Inc., a Florida non-profit agency founded by her parents that provides Housing, Outreach, Prevention and Education for families on the brink of homelessness and facing homelessness, especially those families where children are involved.
During her tenure as Miss Florida, Rachael formed a partnership in perpetuity with The Everglades Foundation, a grass roots organization that aims at promoting the restoration efforts of the Florida Everglades, raising awareness of the importance of the preservation of the world’s most unique ecosystem. In May of 2010, Rachael served as delegate at The 1st Annual America’s Everglades Summit in Washington, D.C.
In March of 2010 Rachael officially launched her program entitled “Miss Florida’s Millennials.” Rachael is inspired by her generation, The Millennials, who are regarded as “The Next Great Generation.” She believes that service to others is an innate part of who they are. She produced an online public service announcement to address the students and officially presented this program to the students of Florida on March 22nd, 2010 at the Florida Learn and Serve – Raise your Voice for Service Learning Conference in Tallahassee, Florida.
Since her reign as Miss Florida, Rachael has followed a path that has lead her to Nashville, TN. She has continued public speaking and enjoys encouraging students to embrace their Millennial attributes and challenges them to capitalize on the incredible expectations that the world has proposed. Rachael states, “I take responsibility for making sure this generation knows the expectations that have been placed upon them, when a child feels like they are expected to do something great, they’re going to work to achieve it.”
Rachael has also had the opportunity to speak to audiences of all ages about realizing their dreams and passions and acting upon those desires to reach their full potential.
Additionally, she now works for Nashville to You, a music management company, she oversees the music careers of artists such as Chuck Wicks, and organizes their tour dates, appearances and travel schedules. Rachael also works with young girls between the ages of 13-17 teaching them about the entertainment world, modeling, public speaking, self-confidence, and how to present themselves professionally.
Rachael has hosted a variety of TV and web shows including Pageant Network on YouTube, Orlando Rocks for HOPE, and MusikFest 2010. She has been a guest on Fox 35 Morning Show, XL 106.7, Magic 107.7, St. Petersburg Morning News, and can be seen in many commercials throughout the state of Florida.
