Rachel Peterson

Woman of the Week - The Echo Project

Rachel and I met through our love of music. We end up at Red Rocks together almost every year. She is a strong, confident beautiful woman and I have always admired her. I also love a woman who is brave enough to bring her knitting project to Red Rocks to have something to do while she waits - extremely efficient!  Her passion for music is a gift to the world and she is an amazing mother. 

What do you do for a living? I am a project manager and geologist with an environmental consulting firm in Denver. I’ve been working for the same small company for 10 years, and most days I love what I do. My job is intellectually stimulating, I do something different every day, I work with great people, I have a lot of responsibility and room for growth, and it’s a great place to work as a full-time working mother. I’m very thankful for the career path I’ve found myself in.

What is your purpose in life? Hard question! As a mother to a little girl, I take a lot of responsibility for raising a strong, independent, powerful, kind, and smart woman. I also find a lot of gratification in sharing my love of music with the people in my life and in my community. I am absolutely passionate about supporting live, independent music, and through my history as a bluegrass radio DJ and now as a house concert hostess, I’m doing my part to share my love of acoustic music with everyone I come into contact with and to support all the amazing musicians out there who are trying to make a living through their art!

If you had the attention of every woman on the planet, what would you say to us? I’m constantly striving to support the other women in my life and in my career. If women are to be truly valued in all societies, and by our male counterparts, we have to start by supporting each other! I see too many women, especially in a professional setting, who are threatened by the successes of other women, and it sets up a vicious cycle of women cutting each other down instead of us raising each other up.

What is your super power? I think I am an awesome multi-tasker, and I am very organized. It’s the only way I stay on top of things in my very busy life. Very thankful that these are skills I possess.

If you could interview any woman alive today, who would it be and why? There are a lot of awesome women doing great things in the world right now. But I might just like to talk to other working mamas about how on earth they find the balance. Everyone has different tips and tricks, and I can use any and all advice given to me. Or else Beyonce.

What did you want to be when you were 5 years old? I couldn’t remember, so I asked my mom, and she said I wanted to be a magician!