Mrs. Betterley is a secondary art teacher, speaker, professional artist, and tireless advocate on bullying, art education, and positive youth development. She served as Miss Minnesota 2015.
Rachel was crowned the 80th Anniversary Miss Minnesota on June 13th, 2015. The Miss Minnesota Scholarship Program is a non-profit organization that awards scholarships to outstanding young women to help advance them academically and professionally. Rachel has received numerous service and dedication awards including, the Janna-Michelle Sheriff Impact Award, Shelly Bartlett Living and Giving Scholarship, Scipioni Family Passion for your Platform Scholarship, National Sweetheart John Bitner Judges Award, and was a two time recipient of the Miss Minnesota Lifestyle and Fitness Award. She has been awarded nearly $20,000 in scholarships to date.
For over half a decade Rachel has implemented service projects geared towards children. She served as a Free Arts Minnesota mentor, YouthCARE Minnesota mentor, participant in the Brooklyn Park Community Engagement Initiative, and has logged over 10,000 miles traveling and speaking to various Minnesota schools about bullying and the #bluepinky social media campaign. She has appeared numerous times on Fox 9, Channel 12, WDIO, Twin Cities News Talk, AM1280 The Patriot, KDWA AM1460, KBFT Bois Forte Tribal Community Radio, Hastings Community TV, Zandolee Media, and numerous newspaper articles throughout the state. Nationally, she has appeared on Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, and The Miss America Pageant Live on ABC. She is an accomplished ribbon dancer, performing for Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall, Mankato Dancing with the Stars, Minnesota Schools, Local Miss Minnesota Pageants, Miss Greater Des Moines, and the Nett Lake Tribal Elders.
During her year as Miss Minnesota, Rachel served as the state ambassador for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, advocated on behalf of her personal platform: The Heart of Learning: Providing What our Classrooms Need, and was the first art teacher to ever win the title of Miss Minnesota. Using art as a tool for youth to find a voice in society, she engages in conversations about bullying, identity, cultural competency, creativity, community service, and self-confidence. Visit the#BluePinky page for more information about Rachel's school presentations.
Since 2012, Rachel has been an advocate for Art Education, using her knowledge and skills as an Art Educator to impact communities. Since 2015, Rachel has implemented the Empty Bowl service project with her students. Youth create handmade ceramic bowls, which are then served with a soup meal as a fundraiser for local food shelves. To date, over $12,000 have been raised to feed families in the northland community.
One of Rachel's most serious forms of art advocacy is creating conversations about race, diversity, and cultural awareness both in schools and throughout communities. Having experience teaching out of country at the Danila Kumar International School in Ljubljana, Slovenia, she recognized the need to foster global culture and acceptance in Minnesota schools. Her focus has turned to using the state capital as a source to start a conversation about Native American history, generational trauma, and how youth can advocate for diverse and equal representation in this building through art. In 2014, she began collaborating with Healing Minnesota Stories, a group dedicated to creating healing relationships across cultures, religions, and races. Rachel created the Healing Minnesota Art Project where youth create art based on their culture and the history of Minnesota. These artworks have been revealed to local news stations in the form of gallery showings, encouraging the Minnesota state capital to start a deeper conversation about Minnesota's diverse history. The Healing Minnesota Art Project is continuing to be replicated in other classrooms across the state. She has presented at the 2014 Art Educators of Minnesota Conference and the 2014 Overcoming Racism Conference, Hamline University, Anderson United Community School, All My Relations Gallery, Two Rivers Gallery, and the Brooklyn Park Community Center. The project has appeared on Fox 9 News, Channel 12 News, and revealed in person to Governor Mark Dayton and accompanying legislatures. Through this platform and service work, she continues to reach and inspire thousands of youth across the state as well as build stronger curriculum of cultural inclusion within the Minnesota subject of Visual Arts.
Rachel studied K-12 Art Education at the University of Minnesota Duluth and graduated magna cum laude in 2013. She is currently serving a high school teaching position with St. Louis County Schools. She is the wife of Brad Betterley, owner and founder of BRB Services, LLC. Click the contact link above to book your appearance with Rachel Betterley.
Rachel was crowned the 80th Anniversary Miss Minnesota on June 13th, 2015. The Miss Minnesota Scholarship Program is a non-profit organization that awards scholarships to outstanding young women to help advance them academically and professionally. Rachel has received numerous service and dedication awards including, the Janna-Michelle Sheriff Impact Award, Shelly Bartlett Living and Giving Scholarship, Scipioni Family Passion for your Platform Scholarship, National Sweetheart John Bitner Judges Award, and was a two time recipient of the Miss Minnesota Lifestyle and Fitness Award. She has been awarded nearly $20,000 in scholarships to date.
For over half a decade Rachel has implemented service projects geared towards children. She served as a Free Arts Minnesota mentor, YouthCARE Minnesota mentor, participant in the Brooklyn Park Community Engagement Initiative, and has logged over 10,000 miles traveling and speaking to various Minnesota schools about bullying and the #bluepinky social media campaign. She has appeared numerous times on Fox 9, Channel 12, WDIO, Twin Cities News Talk, AM1280 The Patriot, KDWA AM1460, KBFT Bois Forte Tribal Community Radio, Hastings Community TV, Zandolee Media, and numerous newspaper articles throughout the state. Nationally, she has appeared on Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, and The Miss America Pageant Live on ABC. She is an accomplished ribbon dancer, performing for Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall, Mankato Dancing with the Stars, Minnesota Schools, Local Miss Minnesota Pageants, Miss Greater Des Moines, and the Nett Lake Tribal Elders.
During her year as Miss Minnesota, Rachel served as the state ambassador for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, advocated on behalf of her personal platform: The Heart of Learning: Providing What our Classrooms Need, and was the first art teacher to ever win the title of Miss Minnesota. Using art as a tool for youth to find a voice in society, she engages in conversations about bullying, identity, cultural competency, creativity, community service, and self-confidence. Visit the#BluePinky page for more information about Rachel's school presentations.
Since 2012, Rachel has been an advocate for Art Education, using her knowledge and skills as an Art Educator to impact communities. Since 2015, Rachel has implemented the Empty Bowl service project with her students. Youth create handmade ceramic bowls, which are then served with a soup meal as a fundraiser for local food shelves. To date, over $12,000 have been raised to feed families in the northland community.
One of Rachel's most serious forms of art advocacy is creating conversations about race, diversity, and cultural awareness both in schools and throughout communities. Having experience teaching out of country at the Danila Kumar International School in Ljubljana, Slovenia, she recognized the need to foster global culture and acceptance in Minnesota schools. Her focus has turned to using the state capital as a source to start a conversation about Native American history, generational trauma, and how youth can advocate for diverse and equal representation in this building through art. In 2014, she began collaborating with Healing Minnesota Stories, a group dedicated to creating healing relationships across cultures, religions, and races. Rachel created the Healing Minnesota Art Project where youth create art based on their culture and the history of Minnesota. These artworks have been revealed to local news stations in the form of gallery showings, encouraging the Minnesota state capital to start a deeper conversation about Minnesota's diverse history. The Healing Minnesota Art Project is continuing to be replicated in other classrooms across the state. She has presented at the 2014 Art Educators of Minnesota Conference and the 2014 Overcoming Racism Conference, Hamline University, Anderson United Community School, All My Relations Gallery, Two Rivers Gallery, and the Brooklyn Park Community Center. The project has appeared on Fox 9 News, Channel 12 News, and revealed in person to Governor Mark Dayton and accompanying legislatures. Through this platform and service work, she continues to reach and inspire thousands of youth across the state as well as build stronger curriculum of cultural inclusion within the Minnesota subject of Visual Arts.
Rachel studied K-12 Art Education at the University of Minnesota Duluth and graduated magna cum laude in 2013. She is currently serving a high school teaching position with St. Louis County Schools. She is the wife of Brad Betterley, owner and founder of BRB Services, LLC. Click the contact link above to book your appearance with Rachel Betterley.