Staff spotlight: Rachel MacDonald

Career

As Academic HR Manager, Rachel supports Cardiology faculty appointments, promotions, and academic HR processes. Though she stepped into this role in April 2025, she has been with UW Medicine for just over 10 years, most of which with the Division of Cardiology. 

Since beginning her UW career at the Contact Center in 2015, she has held several roles within Cardiology, including two years as a patient care coordinator in the Heart Institute, followed by five years as the program manager for the interventional cardiology group. 

One of her favorite aspects of the division, and her current role, is the opportunity to work closely with the Cardiology faculty who are always excited to share and teach. Throughout her career at the UW, she has also valued the many opportunities for personal and professional development.

“I love that there are so many opportunities within UW, and I’ve been fortunate to work with great mentors, leaders, and faculty who have supported my development along the way,” Rachel said.

Background and interests

A lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest, Rachel enjoys a good rainy day and spending time outdoors. She and her husband are longtime Husky fans and attend as many football and basketball games as they can.

She grew up fishing with her family and still enjoys spending the day on the water crabbing or catching salmon with her parents.
During high school and college, Rachel worked at Starbucks, where she learned the art of multitasking, a skill that comes in handy in her work now.

She earned her degree in communications from the University of Washington and initially considered a career in broadcasting before finding her path to UW Medicine. “I always thought I’d work at a broadcast company, but after one internship at KOMO I quickly pivoted,” she said.

In her free time, Rachel and her husband enjoy traveling, choosing destinations between her husband’s excitement for exploring new countries and her love of relaxing on quiet beaches with a good book. At home, they love spoiling their two dogs, a dachshund and black lab.