In 2016, after Rachel Coulther’s father suffered a massive stroke, she put her career and extracurricular activities on hold to be a full-time caregiver for him. Her selflessness, creativity in providing support for him and her mother, and unlimited devotion, not only characterize Rachel’s care for her father, but are qualities she incorporated into her life and career as a child and young adult.
As a child, Rachel was a talented dancer, who also loved helping to teach younger dancers. When she was diagnosed with a connective tissue disorder and could no longer dance, she turned to her other gift: music. She sang in many choirs, from her church to the NJ All State Chorus as well as throughout college.

While at York College, majoring in criminal justice, Rachel discovered her passion and skills for advocacy . As an intern at a batterer’s intervention program, she developed her counseling skills and desire to support youth in need. She worked at a teen residential drug treatment center, where she planned activities for her caseload to strengthen their interpersonal relationships with each other. Rachel demonstrated a natural gift of relating to the residential clients who had very different life experiences than her own and she sacrificed much of her free time to create activities for this population.

Taking a minor career shift, Rachel then worked as a paralegal at a NYC medical malpractice law firm. Although different from her previous counseling clients, Rachel continued working with those who needed to find their voices and advocate for themselves as they suffered catastrophic injuries. Clients who could benefit from more emotional support from their legal team were placed on Rachel’s caseload.

After her father’s stroke, Rachel assumed the role of full time caregiver and never looked back. She adapted furniture in his home to accommodate his wheelchair. As he progressed to walking, she devised ways for him to become more independent by modifying everyday household items, personal care ideas, and forms of entertainment. She drove him to therapy, to adaptive golf lessons, and to the YMCA, fulfilling his goals above all else. Rachel also recognized the importance of normalcy in her parents’ lives and kept the aesthetics of the Coulther home in mind as she created the necessary accommodations.

Rachel’s dedication to her father’s recovery enabled her mother, Carol, to continue teaching until she retired, including teaching online during Covid; Rachel also helped other teachers to adapt to on-line instruction. When a family struggled to set up their son’s laptop for remote learning, Rachel went to their home to help his family, who were non-native English speakers.

Everyone who knows Rachel recognizes the light that shines on others. She relates to strangers with sincerity and empathy, uses her creativity to improve lives, and spreads love selflessly. She inspires people to ask themselves what they can do to support others. Rachel incorporates the Ampersand Inn’s motto “it’s all about connection,” at every opportunity and we honor her for living this adage every day.

January 2025