Rachel Goslins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rachel Goslins
Executive Director of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities
In office July 2009 – December 2015
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	David H. Moran, III
Succeeded by	Megan C. Beyer
Personal details
Born	Rachel Eva Goslins (1969-07-23) July 23, 1969 (age 56) Los Angeles County, California, U.S.
Spouse	Julius Genachowski (div. 2020)
Children	2
Education	University of California, Santa Cruz (BA) University of California, Los Angeles (JD)
Occupation	film producer, film director

Rachel Eva Goslins, born on July 23, 1969, is an American leader in non-profit organizations, a museum director, and a filmmaker who makes documentaries. As of October 2023, she has been the executive director and Chief Creative Officer of the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream. This is a cultural center located in Washington, D.C. Before this role, she was the Director of the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building. She also led the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities during President Obama's time in office. In that role, she started many new programs for education and cultural exchange. She also organized a big effort to support arts education. Earlier in her career, Rachel started a company that made documentaries. She directed films and TV shows. She also worked as a lawyer, focusing on international copyright law.

Her Career Journey

Rachel Goslins is currently the executive director and Chief Creative Officer of the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream. This center is in Washington, D.C. She joined the organization in 2022. It is part of the Milken Institute.

Working with the Smithsonian

Before joining the Milken Center, Goslins was the Director of the Arts & Industries Building at the Smithsonian Institution. She worked there for six years. In this job, she led the effort to bring the museum back to life and reopen it. The museum had been closed to the public for over ten years. Some of her major projects included a series of talks called "Long Conversation." She also helped create the "By The People" arts and cultural festival. Another big project was the "FUTURES" exhibition. This large exhibit covered 35,000 square feet. It welcomed almost a million visitors in nine months. The exhibition also received attention from media around the world.

Helping the Arts with President Obama

Before her time at the Smithsonian, Goslins was the executive director of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. This group advised the White House on cultural policy. President Obama chose her for this position in 2009. In this role, she worked closely with the White House and other important government officials. She also collaborated with famous artists, generous donors, and business leaders. Her goal was to support the arts and humanities in America and other countries.

Under her leadership, the organization's budget and programs more than doubled. She helped raise over $50 million through partnerships between public and private groups. This money supported the arts. She also started several new programs. One was "Turnaround Arts," which worked with the U.S. Department of Education. This program brought arts education to some of the country's lowest-performing elementary schools. Another program was the National Student Poets Program. She also helped create a program with the Smithsonian Institution, UNESCO, and the U.S. Department of State. This program helped save and protect Haitian cultural items after a hurricane in 2009. She left her role as executive director in 2015.

Making Documentaries

Rachel Goslins has directed several films. Her documentary film, Bama Girl, was first shown at the 2008 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival. Later, it was shown on the Independent Film Channel (IFC). The film tells the story of a Black woman at the University of Alabama. She runs for Homecoming Queen in 2005. She faces challenges related to a long history of racial separation. She also deals with internal Black politics and a secret group called The Machine. This group was formed in 1914 by traditional white fraternities and sororities.

Goslins has also worked on productions for other TV channels. These include the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the Discovery Channel, the National Geographic Channel (Nat Geo), and History. She was also the director of the Independent Digital Distribution Lab. This was a joint project between PBS and ITVS. Her most recent film was Besa: The Promise. This award-winning documentary is about Albanian Muslims who helped save Jews during World War II.

Her Legal Background

Before her career in the arts, Rachel Goslins worked as an international copyright attorney. She was part of the U.S. Copyright Office. In this role, she helped write parts of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. She also represented the Copyright Office at important international groups. These included UNESCO, the World Intellectual Property Organization, and the World Trade Organization. She started her career as a lawyer at the firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. In 2012, she received a Henry Crown Fellowship at the Aspen Institute.

Personal Life

Goslins and her family with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office in 2009.

Rachel Goslins was married to Julius Genachowski, who was once the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. They have two children together.