Rachel Jacobs

Jacobs grew up in Huntington Woods, Michigan,{{cite news|last1=Gottlieb|first1=Amishai|title=Rachel Jacobs, Missing After Amtrak Derailment, Connected Jewishly|url=http://www.jewishexponent.com/headlines/2015/05/rachel-jacobs-missing-after-amtrak-derailment-connected-jewishly|accessdate=May 14, 2015|publisher=Jewish Exponent|date=May 13, 2015}} the daughter of Gilda Jacobs, a former Michigan state senator.{{cite news|last1=Blau|first1=Reuven|title=Rachel Jacobs, daughter of former Michigan state senator, among 7 dead in Amtrak train derailment|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/rachel-jacobs-7-dead-amtrak-train-derailment-article-1.2221247|accessdate=May 14, 2015|website=New York Daily News|date=May 13, 2015}} She was a 1993 graduate of Berkley High School, a 1997 graduate of Swarthmore College, and a 2002 graduate of Columbia Business School.{{cite news|last1=Kampe|first1=Paul|title=Huntington Woods native, daughter of former state senator dead in Amtrak derailment near Philadelphia|url=http://www.dailytribune.com/general-news/20150513/huntington-woods-native-daughter-of-former-state-senator-dead-in-amtrak-derailment-near-philadelphia|accessdate=May 14, 2015|publisher=Tribune News|date=May 13, 2015}} Jacobs moved to New York City in 2000.{{cite news|last1=Cannon|first1=Lauren|title=On Urban Ex-Pat Networks in NYC|url=http://www.thelmagazine.com/2011/09/on-urban-ex-pat-networks-in-nyc/|accessdate=May 14, 2015|publisher=The L Magazine|date=September 28, 2011}}

Jacobs was CEO of ApprenNet,{{cite news|title=People in the News|url=http://articles.philly.com/2015-03-31/business/60648429_1_chief-financial-officer-interim-president-estate-company|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518023525/http://articles.philly.com/2015-03-31/business/60648429_1_chief-financial-officer-interim-president-estate-company|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 18, 2015|accessdate=May 19, 2015|website=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=March 31, 2015}} a video-learning tech company which was cofounded by Karl Okamoto, a law professor at Drexel University. The company "provides tools for instructors to create video-based learning exercises."{{cite news|last1=Reyes|first1=Juliana|url=http://technical.ly/philly/2015/04/06/apprennet-rachel-jacobs/|title=ApprenNet just hired a new CEO. Here's why that's a big deal|accessdate=May 14, 2015|publisher=TechnicallyPhilly|date=April 6, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=O'Brien|first1=Sara|title=Rachel Jacobs, the chief executive of a small tech company in Philadelphia, died in the Amtrak train crash, her family said Wednesday|url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/05/13/news/companies/amtrak-crash-rachel-jacobs/|accessdate=May 14, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=May 13, 2015}} Before joining ApprenNet, Jacobs worked for the education-technology firm Ascend Learning where she was vice president of business innovation.{{cite news|last1=Halcom|first1=Chad|title=Detroit Nation co-founder Rachel Jacobs, 39, died in Amtrak train crash|url=http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20150513/NEWS/150519932/detroit-nation-co-founder-missing-after-amtrak-train-crash|accessdate=May 18, 2015|publisher=Craine's|date=May 13, 2015}} According to Okamoto, the two met because ApprenNet was doing business with Ascend and Jacobs "was our customer before she became our colleague."{{cite news|last1=Lubrano|first1=Alfred|title=Philly CEO among the Amtrak crash's missing|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150514_Philly_CEO_among_the_Amtrak_crashes__missing.html#XecV7yk0WBmI2881.99|accessdate=May 18, 2015|website=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=May 13, 2015}}

In a career The Washington Post described as "moving from one big job to the next," Jacobs' first job out of business school was as a manager at the Pragma Corporation, based in Kyrgyzstan, where she helped the government develop IT strategies. She next worked for the Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy.{{cite web|url=http://wpanews.net/usa-today-tech-start-up-ceo-rachel-jacobs-among-amtrak-crash-victims/|title=(USA Today) – Tech start-up CEO Rachel Jacobs among Amtrak crash victims|author=|date=|work=wpanews.net}} In 2007, Jacobs joined McGraw Hill, where she "led the expansion of McGraw-Hill's career-learning business into China, India and the Middle East."

Jacobs was hired to lead ApprenNet, which is backed by the National Science Foundation, in an expansion from its original focus on educating lawyers, into a phase to apply its online teaching technology to training health-care professionals, college level instruction and training for K-12 teachers.

Following Jacobs's death, ApprenNet merged with Handsfree Learning of California.{{cite news|last1=Blumenthal|first1=Jeff|title=Local tech firm that lost CEO in Amtrak crash merges with California firm|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2015/07/22/appernet-rachel-jacobs-amtrak-merge-handsfree.html|accessdate=July 27, 2015|website=Philadelphia Business Journal|date=July 22, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Lurye|first1=Sharon|title=Overcoming death of CEO, ApprenNet raises $1.8 million|url=http://www.phillyvoice.com/overcoming-death-ceo-apprennet-raises-18-million/|accessdate=October 21, 2015|publisher=Philadelphia Voice|date=September 1, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Norton|first1=Dan|title=ApprenNet CEO talks taking over after death of Rachel Jacobs|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2015/09/01/amtrak188-rachel-jacobs-appernet-freedman-replace.html|accessdate=October 21, 2015|website=Philadelphia Business Journal|date=September 1, 2015}}

In 2009, Jacobs organized 635 Mile Road, a non-profit organization of former Detroit-area residents "dedicated to improving the flow of funds, ideas and energy between native Detroiters."{{cite magazine|last1=Dybis|first1=Karen|title=Only 635 Miles From Home|url=http://detroit.blogs.time.com/2010/10/25/only-635-miles-from-home/#ixzz3aTP33kEm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028120942/http://detroit.blogs.time.com/2010/10/25/only-635-miles-from-home/#ixzz3aTP33kEm|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 28, 2010|accessdate=May 18, 2015|magazine=Time|date=October 25, 2010}}{{cite web|title=Happy New Year Detroiters…Let "US" Help|url=http://neweconomyinitiative.org/happy-new-year-detroiterslet-us-help/|website=New Economy Initiative|date=December 13, 2013 |publisher=Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation|accessdate=May 18, 2015}} By the end of 2010, 635 Mile Road became Detroit Nation.{{cite web|title=A Salute to a Mighty 'Detroit Nation'|url=http://blog.thedetroithub.com/2010/12/24/a-salute-to-a-mighty-detroit-nation/|website=Detroit Unspun|publisher=thedetroithub|accessdate=May 18, 2015}} The organization soon had chapters in chapters in New York, Seattle, Chicago, and other cities dedicated to helping Detroit natives who continue supporting the region after moving away.{{cite news|last1=Cedo|first1=Eric|title=Detroit lost one of its genuine champions in tragic death of Rachel Jacobs|url=http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20150514/BLOG200/150519910/opinion-detroit-lost-one-of-its-genuine-champions-in-tragic-death-of|accessdate=May 15, 2015|publisher=Crain's|date=May 14, 2015}}{{cite news|title=Rachel Jacobs Founder/Chairwoman, Detroit Nation|url=http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20140917/NEWS/140919876/rachel-jacobs|accessdate=May 15, 2015|publisher=Crain's|date=September 17, 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Wisley|first1=John|title=Train crash victim Rachel Jacobs never forgot her roots|url=http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/05/14/rachel-jacobs-amtrak-train-crash-victim/27322107/|accessdate=May 15, 2015|website=Detroit Free Press|date=May 14, 2015}}{{cite news|title=Discover the D with Detroit Nation|url=https://www.thejewishnews.com/2011/10/04/discover-the-d-with-detroit-nation/|accessdate=May 14, 2015|publisher=The Detroit Jewish News|date=October 4, 2011}}{{cite news|title='Detroit Nation' Spreading Motor City Pride|url=http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2011/04/25/detroit-nation-spreading-motor-city-pride/|accessdate=May 14, 2015|publisher=CBS|date=April 25, 2011}} The group offers free consulting to Detroit-based, grassroots entrepreneurs and artists. Through Detroit Nation, Jacobs helped arrange the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's first Carnegie Hall concert in 17 years.{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Friends-Mourn-Software-Executive-Killed-in-Amtrak-Crash-304016601.html|title=Friends Mourn Software Executive Killed in Amtrak Crash|author=|date=May 17, 2015|work=NBC New York}} By the time the group held a Detroit ex-pats meet-up in their hometown in 2014, the group had 10,000 members online.{{cite news|url=http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2014/09/19/detroits-expats-say-city-phenomenal-ideas/15890617/|last1=Chambers|first1=Jennifer|title=Detroit's expats say city has 'phenomenal ideas'|accessdate=May 14, 2015|newspaper=The Detroit News|date=September 19, 2014}} Detroit Nation raised money for Detroit charities with fund-raising events held by expats in Seattle, Chicago, New York and other cities, but, as Jacobs explained to an interviewer in 2011, the ex-pats also provide "human capital... helping organizations to better integrate social networking tools, develop marketing materials, or structure the organization and bring in larger donors."{{cite news|last1=Koening|first1=Leah|title=Repair Interview: Rachel Jacobs of Detroit Nation|url=http://werepair.org/blog/repair-interview-rachel-jacobs-of-detroit-nation/|accessdate=May 20, 2015|agency=Repair the World|publisher=Repair the World|date=July 14, 2011}}

In 2014, Jacobs was one of 150 business leaders invited to attend the first annual Detroit Homecoming. Interviewed during the Homecoming, Jacobs told The Detroit News that, "Detroit doesn't need ideas. It has phenomenal ideas. It needs doers... My challenge to expats is who will raise their hand and be a doer in Detroit?"

She was married to Todd Waldman, who {{as of|2015|lc=yes}} worked for Navigant Consulting; the couple had one son.{{cite news|title=Profound Impact|url=https://www.thejewishnews.com/2015/05/18/profound-impact/|accessdate=May 20, 2015|publisher=Detroit Jewish News|date=May 18, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Abdel-Razzaq|first1=Lauren|title=Funeral planned for train crash victim from Detroit|url=http://www.detroitnews.com/story/obituaries/2015/05/17/funeral-rachel-jacobs/27496197/|accessdate=May 18, 2015|newspaper=The Detroit News|date=May 17, 2015}}{{cite news|title=Rachel Jacobs, Todd Waldman|url=http://www.ncnewsonline.com/community/engagements/rachel-jacobs-todd-waldman/article_c5e780a4-5f50-5ed8-902e-74a29f476845.html|accessdate=May 15, 2015|publisher=New Castle News|date=April 1, 2009}} Jacobs and Waldman had been considering whether to move the family to Philadelphia.{{cite news|last1=Svrluga|first1=Susan|title=Accomplished Amtrak victims: a midshipman, tech CEO, AP video staffer, banker|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/amtrak-victims-include-midshipman-tech-ceo-video-staffer-banker/2015/05/13/f887d516-f995-11e4-a13c-193b1241d51a_story.html|accessdate=May 19, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 13, 2013}}

Media attention focused on Jacobs in the hours after the crash because she was known to have been on the train but had not been identified among the injured and the dead.{{cite news|last1=Bethencourt|first1=Daniel|title=Metro Detroit native Rachel Jacobs still missing after Amtrak crash|url=http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/05/13/metro-detroit-woman-amtrak-accident/27238749/|accessdate=May 18, 2015|website=Detroit Free Press|date=May 13, 2015}} ApprenNet co-founder and COO Emily Foote went to the crash scene to try to locate Jacobs by showing her photograph to survivors and rescue workers.{{cite news|last1=Barrabi|first1=Thomas|title=ApprenNet CEO Rachel Jacobs Remains Missing After Amtrak Train Derailment|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/apprennet-ceo-rachel-jacobs-remains-missing-after-amtrak-train-derailment-1921251|accessdate=May 18, 2015|newspaper=International Business Times|date=May 13, 2015}}

Hundreds of people attended memorial services held at the Greenwich Village campus of Hebrew Union College on Saturday, May 16, 2015.{{cite news|last1=Ortiz|first1=Keldy|title=Amtrak derailment victim Rachel Jacobs remembered with laughter, tears and music|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/amtrak-derailment-victim-rachel-jacobs-remembered-article-1.2225330|accessdate=May 18, 2015|website=New York Daily News|date=May 17, 2015}}{{cite news|title=Memorial Held for CEO Killed in Amtrak Derailment

| url=http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/CEO-Rachel-Jacobs-Derailment-Memorial-Death-Amtrak-Philadelphia-304008511.html|accessdate=May 18, 2015|publisher=NBC10|date=May 16, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Bain|first1=Jennifer|title=Loved ones remember tech CEO who died in train crash|url=https://nypost.com/2015/05/17/tech-ceo-who-died-in-train-crash-mourned-at-funeral/|accessdate=May 18, 2015|website=New York Post|date=May 17, 2015}}{{cite news|title=Life of Amtrak victim Rachel Jacobs celebrated at NY memorial Private ceremony held at Hebrew Union College for mom of two-year-old, CEO of education start-up; funeral set for Monday|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/life-of-amtrak-victim-rachel-jacobs-celebrated-at-new-york-memorial/|agency=JTA|newspaper=Times of Israel|date=May 18, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Langford|first1=Steve|title=CBS Newscast (video): Amtrak Victim Rachel Jacobs Remembered For Her Life-Changing Power|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/amtrak-victim-rachel-jacobs-remembered-for-her-life-changing-power/vp-BBjRZEg|accessdate=May 18, 2015|publisher=CBS/MSN|date=May 17, 2015}} An estimated 1,500 people attended the funeral held in suburban Detroit on May 18, 2015.{{cite news|last1=Martindale|first1=Mike|title=Mich. native killed in train crash lauded for kindness|url=http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2015/05/18/michigan-native-funeral-philadelphia-train-crash/27531151/|accessdate=May 18, 2015|newspaper=The Detroit News|date=May 18, 2015}}

According to CNN, Jacobs' family have set up two memorial funds in her honor, including the "Rachel Jacobs Detroit Nation Fund" to benefit Detroit Nation{{cite news|last1=O'Brien|first1=Sara Ashley|title=Memorial funds set up for CEO killed in Amtrak crash|url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/05/15/technology/amtrak-rachel-jacobs-memorial-fund/index.html|accessdate=May 15, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=May 15, 2015}} and a scholarship fund at Columbia Business School to benefit social entrepreneurs.{{cite magazine|last1=Shelley|first1=Jared|title=Tech CEO Remembered as "Brilliant Strategist," "Beacon of Light"; A Rachel Jacobs scholarship fund has been created for female social entrepreneurs|url=http://www.phillymag.com/business/2015/05/18/tech-ceo-remembered-as-brilliant-strategist-beacon-of-light/|accessdate=May 18, 2015|magazine=Philadelphia|date=May 18, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Dalby|first1=Beth|title=Amtrak Victim Left Legacy to Rekindle Detroit's Entrepreneurial Flame Through Detroit Nation, Rachel Jacobs left a legacy of community service that shows "one person can always make an impact."|url=http://patch.com/michigan/royaloak/fund-drive-continues-amtrak-victims-unflinching-love-detroit|accessdate=May 19, 2015|publisher=Royal Oak Patch|date=May 18, 2015}}

Former campers and counselors who had spent summers with Rachel at Tamarack Camps, located in the state of Michigan, came together and raised money to dedicate the Rachel Jacobs Tikkun Olam Leadership Award. Rachel often spoke to others about how her camp experiences help shape her identity during her formative years. Beginning in 2016, this award will go to one summer staff member each year who embodies Rachel's values for healing or repairing the world (the Hebrew translation of Tikkun Olam).Lisa Goren

Daily News columnist Mike Lupica demanded a full investigation of Amtrak safety from the National Transportation Safety Board to prevent future tragedies in which a two-year-old child "grows up without a mother."{{cite news|last1=Lupica|first1=Mike|title=We know money is needed to fix Amtrak, but the NTSB needs to explain why the crashed train was speeding to begin with|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/lupica-ntsb-explain-amtrak-train-speeding-article-1.2225858|accessdate=May 18, 2015|website=New York Daily News|date=May 17, 2015}} Assigned to ride on the first train through Philadelphia after the derailment, columnist Ronnie Polaneczky wrote for The Philadelphia Inquirer that, "The next time I sigh that I can't afford to fix the roof or haven't time to help a friend move across the country, I will try to remind myself that Rachel Jacobs would have given anything to still be here to indulge such petty worries."{{cite news|last1=Polaneczky|first1=Ronnie|title=Life After the Amtrak Disaster|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150519_Life_after_the_Amtrak_disaster.html#zEC1T4e5iR3S8YYT.99|accessdate=May 19, 2015|website=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=May 19, 2015}}

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Category:1975 births

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