Rachel Quednau

 

Rachel Quednau serves as Program Director, managing the content team at Strong Towns, as well as hosting our Bottom-Up Revolution podcast. Trained in dialogue facilitation and mediation, she is devoted to building understanding across lines of difference. Previously, Rachel worked for several organizations fighting to end homelessness and promote safe, affordable housing at the federal and local levels. Rachel also served as Content Manager for Strong Towns from 2015-2018. A native Minnesotan and honorary Wisconsinite, Rachel received a Masters in Religion, Ethics, and Politics from Harvard Divinity School and a Certificate in Conflict Transformation from the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium, both in 2020. She currently lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with her husband Jack and son Marshall. One of her favorite ways to get to know a new city is by going for a walk in it.

 
 
Recent Articles and Podcasts by Rachel
Top of the Bottom-Up: Creating a Coffee Shop for the Whole Neighborhood
Top of the Bottom-Up: Creating a Coffee Shop for the Whole Neighborhood

Coté Soeren’s “Resistencia” coffee shop in Seattle is a space for community connection and support, not gentrification.

Top of the Bottom-Up: Taking Matters Into Our Own Hands to #SlowTheCars
Top of the Bottom-Up: Taking Matters Into Our Own Hands to #SlowTheCars

After the local government did nothing, this Strong Towns advocate bought a dangerous road in her community and made it safer.

Top of the Bottom-Up: Building Family and Community Resilience
Top of the Bottom-Up: Building Family and Community Resilience

On a homestead in rural Wisconsin, Lauren Fisher is dedicated to growing her own food and connecting with her neighbors.

Top of the Bottom-Up: Building Gentle Density and a Grassroots Campaign for City Council
Top of the Bottom-Up: Building Gentle Density and a Grassroots Campaign for City Council

Ashley Salvador is a housing advocate and city councilor in Edmonton, Alberta.

Top of the Bottom-Up: Growing Food, Growing Resilience
Top of the Bottom-Up: Growing Food, Growing Resilience

Alfred Melbourne sees farming as a chance to bring back land into productive use, feed neighbors, and help guide young people down a supportive path.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Building an Accessory Dwelling Unit and Helping Others Do the Same
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Building an Accessory Dwelling Unit and Helping Others Do the Same

Sarah Cipkar created a tool to help people navigate the ADU process in Canada.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…a Mayor Working for Safe Streets and a Thriving Downtown
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…a Mayor Working for Safe Streets and a Thriving Downtown

Mayor Erin Stewart is helping create a brighter future for New Britain, CT.

The Suburbs Are a “One-Life-Cycle” Product
The Suburbs Are a “One-Life-Cycle” Product

A recent CNBC documentary features Strong Towns insights from Charles Marohn about why suburban development is so risky.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Speaking Up to Build Strong Towns
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Speaking Up to Build Strong Towns

Norm Van Eeden Petersman is the new member advocate at Strong Towns, as well as the leader of a Local Conversation group in Delta, BC.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Planting Street Trees and Neighborhood Connections
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Planting Street Trees and Neighborhood Connections

Emma Durand-Wood is a Strong Towns member who is a leader in her neighborhood association and a big advocate for street trees in Winnipeg.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Moving from Planning to Action
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Moving from Planning to Action

Strong Towns member Spencer Gardner is the new planning director for the city of Spokane, WA, and he’s been helping his city take action on important housing issues.

Mall Money, More Problems
Mall Money, More Problems

Yet another failed mall (this time in Milwaukee, WI) proves to be a drag on—and an active harm to—its surroundings.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…an Engineer Who “Saw the Light”
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…an Engineer Who “Saw the Light”

This engineer has been a Strong Towns advocate and member for a decade.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Campaigning to Get Rid of an Urban Highway
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Campaigning to Get Rid of an Urban Highway

Amy Stelly is advocating to remove a harmful highway in her New Orleans neighborhood.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Starting an Electric Bike Business
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Starting an Electric Bike Business

These Strong Towns advocates started an electric bike company in Calgary, AB, and are passionate about how biking changes the way you see your city.

When It Comes to Child Safety, We Deserve Better Than Car Seats
When It Comes to Child Safety, We Deserve Better Than Car Seats

With a baby on the way, I’ve been lectured multiple times about safe car seats, and heard nothing about how to minimize the most dangerous activity people do with their children: drive.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Creating a Street Design Team
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Creating a Street Design Team

Strong Towns member and City Councilperson Danny Schaible is leading the way toward safer streets in his Maryland town.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Helping More People Get Out and Bike!
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Helping More People Get Out and Bike!

Strong Towns member Ari Feinsmith is making streets safer in his California town, hosting free bike repair events and more.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Celebrating Your City and Helping it Grow Better
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Celebrating Your City and Helping it Grow Better

Strong Towns member Montavius Jones is committed to making Milwaukee, WI, a better place to live for everyone.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Welcoming New Americans and Building Up a Rural Economy
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Welcoming New Americans and Building Up a Rural Economy

Jennifer Stromsten and Alex Beck are leading economic development efforts in Brattleboro, VT.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Ending Parking Minimums and Seeing the Results
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Ending Parking Minimums and Seeing the Results

Jonathan Curth helped lead the city of Fayetteville, AR, into a new era free of commercial parking minimums.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Community Design for Stronger Towns
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Community Design for Stronger Towns

Ann Zadeh is a Strong Towns member, former city councilwoman, and community design leader in Fort Worth, TX.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Two Amazing Strong Towns Members
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Two Amazing Strong Towns Members

Nick and Amanda Lanata are putting the Strong Towns approach into action in Zachary, Louisiana.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Uniting For-Profits and Nonprofits to End Homelessness
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Uniting For-Profits and Nonprofits to End Homelessness

Beth Silverman is working on a non-traditional—and very successful—approach to housing affordability.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...a Neighborhood Storyteller
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...a Neighborhood Storyteller

Meet one of our weekly columnists, the fascinating Karla Theilen.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Incremental Change in a Small Town
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Incremental Change in a Small Town

Cooper Frost is catalyzing economic development and pride of place in Charlotte, MI.

Hey, Starbucks: Your Drive-Thru Doesn't Belong in My Community
Hey, Starbucks: Your Drive-Thru Doesn't Belong in My Community

Or in anyone else’s, for that matter! A strong neighborhood has businesses that keep money in the local economy, instead of siphoning money out.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Helping Neighbors Grow (and Sell!) Their Own Food
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Helping Neighbors Grow (and Sell!) Their Own Food

In San Elizario, TX, these local leaders are spearheading an agricultural renaissance.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Slowing Down Cars and Building Up Neighborhoods
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Slowing Down Cars and Building Up Neighborhoods

Get to know Jay Stange, safe streets advocate and Content Manager at Strong Towns.

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Reaching Across Political Divides
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Reaching Across Political Divides

Carlos Alfaro and Jacob Pritchett are bringing people of different political stripes together in Arizona.

 
QuednauStrong TownsContributor, Staff