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From Nebraska Classrooms to Founding Dean of the School of Education at UW Tacoma: Meet Dr. Rachel Endo
As we celebrate Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we are proud to spotlight Dr. Rachel Endo, Founding Dean and Professor in the School of Education at the University of Washington Tacoma.
Rachel Endo will facilitate a K-12 panel at the GlobalMindED 2025 on Work-Based Learning and Experiences That Augment Dual Enrollment and Rigorous Curriculum." Click here to register to meet leaders like Rachel and others who are dedicated to closing the opportunity gap through meaningful learning/earning experiences.
What is your personal/professional story?
I was born and raised in a predominantly homogenous community in Nebraska. I hail from a multigenerational Japanese American/Nikkei family, including earlier waves of Japanese nationals who were denied citizenship in the U.S. until the early 1950s when my mother was born, to post-1965 Japanese immigrants who arrived shortly following extreme social unrest in our nation in the 1960s that galvanized major civil-rights and immigration-reform movements benefitting communities like ours.
Unfortunately, as a K-12 student who grew up in White-dominated spaces, I did not learn about my family’s history or the histories of other AAPI and BIPOC people. I am also a first-generation college student who was highly supported by the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Project Achieve TRiO Program team, along with several other faculty, leaders, and staff from all backgrounds; I went on to obtain master’s degrees in public administration and education there. I eventually earned a PhD in Language and Literacy Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Throughout my post-secondary education, I was able to recover what I did not learn as a K-12 student about myself and other racialized Americans.
I started my professional career teaching young children because I wanted to provide them with a culturally relevant and high-quality education that I did not receive growing up. I ultimately decided to pursue a career in academia because I wanted to serve as a mentor and role model to diverse university students who, like me, may have never seen themselves as college students, let alone as leaders or working professionals. I hold over 20 years of higher education leadership experience as a multi-term academic dean, department chair, and program director at both private and public universities. I am currently Founding Dean and a Professor in the School of Education at UW Tacoma, a role I have held since 2017.
What key moments in your life led you to where you are today?
My childhood memories include ones where my family and I were constantly ignored, mocked, and/or treated as inferior. However, as long as I can remember, both of my parents boldly modeled a type of radical courage, deftly disrupting some of the most common racial stereotypes in U.S. society that people who look like us are passive. A key learning moment was when my parents, without hesitation, confronted a boy from a wealthy family after he vandalized our home.
I was initially concerned about our safety, and to a lesser extent, that other kids might resent me if they spoke out. However, my parents, thank goodness, preserved our family’s dignity and stood their ground. This moment, which generally represented how they have responded to discriminatory and disrespectful behavior, taught me how to navigate similar situations with courage—and without apology. Another key moment that transformed my life was entering college and taking coursework in Black Studies. Everything I did (or did not) learn during my K-12 education came to light in empowering ways that inform how I lead today. For example, my classmates and I learned from our professors that there is a long history of racial exclusion in the U.S. deeply rooted in anti-Black ideologies. As a graduate student, I took additional coursework in Asian American Studies and Black Studies, which expanded my view of race relations, including the power of cross-racial movements that have improved the lives of all Americans.
As an Asian American woman who views leadership through both practical and scholarly perspectives, I regularly draw on Ethnic Studies frameworks to analyze and respond to various access, equity, and opportunity gaps prevalent in K-12 schools and higher education.
Where does your passion to serve come from?
My passion to serve is rooted in my own experiences growing up and witnessing my family (and many like ours) being denied or excluded from opportunities to be heard or seen. Far too many great ideas have been lost in this world due to the intentional and unintentional exclusion of diverse people in mainstream organizations, social institutions, and systems. I am fortunate to have had many exceptional academic mentors who model equity-conscious service.
For example, at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, faculty members Dr. Gary Marshall and Dr. Jody Neathery-Castro are excellent scholars and teachers, as well as true servant-leaders. Outside the classroom, they mentored thousands of first-generation college students like me. Many of us went to graduate school and secured professional careers that significantly transformed our lives as individuals, as well as our families the communities we represent. Within the context of my current line of work, they have modeled why academics, especially those of us in tenured positions and/or situated to influence an organization through leadership roles, must pay it forward; that is, to serve for a greater and larger good.
How can GlobalMindED help you reach your goals?
I am honored that the GlobalMindED community is part of my extended network, especially in highly uncertain times. Together, we will remain committed to leading with our core values at the center and uplifting the communities and people we serve. Under Carol Carter’s leadership, I have seen the organization grow and thrive over the past several years. My ability to continue contributing to GlobalMindED as a mentor and resource to others, especially up-and-coming leaders from underrepresented and underserved backgrounds, will help me attain one of my key goals: to both learn from and serve others.
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