Rachel Svetanoff ’15 M.S.

Visiting Associate of Policy and Practice, University of Notre Dame
Founder, Project Energy for Life Cameroon
Co-Founder, Global Futurist Initiative
Global Goals Ambassador Lead, United Nations Association of the USA

Working to end energy poverty and reduce multigenerational poverty in Cameroon

Rachel Svetanoff ’15 M.S. is an activist with a history of supporting efforts to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Her background as a global health professional has immersed her in cross-sector social impact, where she has learned to tackle societal challenges across 37 countries supporting more than 125 non-governmental organizations including known brands such as UNICEF USA, Johnson & Johnson, Sesame Street, and The Global Fund U.S.

In 2021, Svetanoff founded Project Energy for Life Cameroon, a community-centered, cross-sector consortium between Bronco Power Boost (an innovative solar power and technology company) and nonprofit organizations Unite for Health Foundation (providing maternal and child healthcare in rural Cameroon) and InternetBar.Org Institute (advancing access to justice and human rights). Her consortium delivers individual medical aid and solar power to the remote Elak Oku village, an underserved community where the electrical grid has failed for years. The region’s chieftain, HRM Fon Ngum IV, serves as a key leader and advisor on the project.

That same year, she co-founded the Global Futurist Initiative, an effort that has mobilized 72 organizations to prioritize youth issues and future generations in multilateral global agendas having built relationships with numerous UN agencies and affiliated institutions.

She is currently a visiting associate of policy & practice at Notre Dame’s Pulte Institute for Global Development, where she is conducting policy research on localizing the UN SDGs to Indiana. Her other current appointments include:

– UNA-USA Global Goals Ambassadors Lead
– U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Next Generation Leader
– Foreign Policy for America Next Gen Delegate
– International Monetary Fund Youth Fellow

Svetanoff earned her bachelor of science in chemistry and an MBA from Purdue University. She is one of Purdue’s most decorated young alumni, earning more than 10 honors and scholarships throughout her Boilermaker journey including the Young Alumni Impact Award and distinguished alumni Purdue Rising Professionals honor. In 2015, she earned her Master of Science in Global Health from Notre Dame’s Eck Institute for Global Health.