Rachel Zakariasen
Principal
ABOUT RACHEL
Rachel Zakariasen is a Principal Consultant within United Minds, based in Minneapolis. Rachel specializes in large-scale transformation, with an emphasis on communications and engagement strategies that support employees during times of change while continuing to drive business outcomes.
Most recently, Rachel has led a variety of engagements helping organizations define, advance, and communicate about their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategies and efforts. This includes work with a large financial services firm navigating DEI-related litigation while rolling out a new DEI strategy internally. She is also actively leading work with several companies focused on understanding the current lived experience of their employees and then helping them craft employer brands that are both aspirational and believable. Rachel knows first-hand how critical DEI and Employee Experience/Brand work is for organizations who want to compete in the current and ongoing talent market.
Prior to joining Weber Shandwick, she led Change Communications for a $3B global transformation at Medtronic, which included equipping communicators across the enterprise to support change/transformation programs and projects, establishing an active Community of Practice for Change Communicators, launching marketing automation tools for internal communications, and developing tools to help monitor and manage the amount of change experienced by employees across the organization.
Prior to Medtronic Rachel was a consultant with Accenture where she led change initiatives for large pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Before that, she was responsible for a wide range of change and transformation programs at organizations like Nike and WebMD.
Rachel holds a bachelor’s degree in English and multiple certificates in change methodologies. She is passionate about creating inclusive environments with diverse, high performing teams. Rachel has also been instrumental in helping organizations advance their inclusion and diversity efforts to better support people who are typically under-represented in corporate environments. She currently leads the LGBTQ+ business resource group for employees who are part of The Weber Shandwick Collective.
