Rachel Kohler

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer

Rachel Kohler is an entrepreneur, investor, and business leader who has spent her career building organizations and advancing innovations that improve how people and communities access opportunity, care, and prosperity. As Co-Founder and CEO of STEAMe, she leads the organization's mission to help communities create stronger workforce systems and expand pathways to economic mobility.

Throughout her career, Rachel has been drawn to opportunities where innovation can unlock new solutions to longstanding challenges. Before launching STEAMe, she served as CEO and co-owner of NowPow, helping build one of the nation's leading social care referral platforms. Under her leadership, the company connected millions of people to vital services, supported thousands of organizations across multiple states, and helped advance the movement toward whole-person care. NowPow was acquired by Unite Us in 2021, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of the social care technology sector.

Prior to NowPow, Rachel spent more than two decades at Kohler Co. in leadership roles spanning strategy, operations, and business growth. Earlier in her career, she worked in management consulting and investment banking, experiences that sharpened her ability to navigate complexity, build organizations, and drive meaningful change.

Across healthcare, workforce development, and community impact, Rachel has remained guided by a belief that innovation is most powerful when it expands opportunity and improves lives. She is passionate about bringing together technology, partnerships, and new ideas to create opportunities that help people and communities thrive.

Rachel serves on the Kohler Co. and Kohler Foundation’s Board of Directors and is a trustee of the University of Chicago and the University of Chicago Medical Center. She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BA from Princeton University.