Rachel Ford, MSc

Experience

Rachel grew up in Grand Rapids Michigan, and studied environmental sciences at the University of Michigan and then environmental economics at Michigan State University. In 2012 she took an opportunity to support a Southeast Alaskan community-based watershed organization focused on salmon habitat protection and restoration. During that time, Rachel learned a lot about salmon, stormwater, and invasive plants and partnered with several organizations, scientists, and Indigenous Nations throughout the region. In 2015 Rachel moved to Whitehorse, Yukon to be with her partner and started working in environmental impact assessment first at the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board and then for the Government of Yukon where she learned a lot about caribou and freshwater fish. In 2018, she and her partner moved to Edmonton, Alberta on Treaty 6 lands and Rachel joined Firelight. While at Firelight, she has worked on cumulative effects assessments, alternative means assessments, and technical reviews associated with large mines, hydroelectric facilities, rail, and nuclear facilities. She took a year to work in oil and gas reclamation policy for the Government of Alberta, but returned to Firelight at the end of 2025.