From fighting wildland fires with the U.S. Forest Service to putting out fires in classrooms, education was the last place Rachael thought she’d end up. A pivotal conversation pushed her to put the chainsaw down and pursue a bigger impact through schools. Today, Dr. Rachael George is an award-winning leader, keynote speaker, author, and former wildland firefighter. She serves as Executive Director of Elementary Programs in the Oregon Trail School District and teaches educational leadership at the University of Oregon. She co-authored She Leads: A Women’s Guide to a Career in Educational Leadership and PrincipalED: Navigating the Leadership Learning Curve. Previously, as principal of Sandy Grade School, she led the school from one of Oregon’s lowest-ranked elementary schools into the top 20%, earning ICLE Model School recognition for closing achievement gaps. She also led a middle school recognized as a State of Oregon “Level 5: Model School.”