Rachel Dalinka
Rachel Dalinka

Rachel Dalinka's story is one of resilience, reinvention, and a relentless drive to use her own life experiences to create change for others. Her professional path has been anything but linear, starting as a high school teacher in Philadelphia, moving into software training at the dawn of the personal computer era, and eventually building her own company, RAD Consulting.

Along the way, she incorporated yoga and mindfulness practices, workforce development for women and veterans, and eventually, a deep commitment to reentry work for formerly incarcerated individuals. What ties it all together is her instinct to teach, to guide, and to give people the tools they need to navigate barriers and find their footing.

RAD Consulting, which began as RAD Computing, grew from corporate training in digital literacy and software to broader professional development: listening skills, conflict resolution, and management training.

Dalinka's approach expanded to include stress relief and mindfulness, incorporating her yoga background to help employees manage workplace pressures. Over time, her work became less about corporations alone and more about people, especially those most often excluded from the workforce.

In her previous role, she created programming that connected underserved populations with health management and workforce opportunities. She co-created a nonprofit linking employers with individuals in shelters, built on the belief that "one job can change a family." Each phase of her career carried forward the same purpose: to help others find the stability and confidence that meaningful work can bring.

It was during this time, in the midst of her own battle with cancer and the upheaval of COVID-19, that Dalinka's work shifted again. Community outreach exposed her to the realities of incarceration and reentry. Suddenly, her personal history came full circle. Her father had been incarcerated when she was a teenager, a traumatic experience she rarely shared, but one that shaped her worldview.

Now working alongside reentry coalitions in Pennsylvania, she saw how her own lived experiences gave her an insider's perspective on the pain, stigma, and redemption tied to incarceration. That realization sparked the idea for her podcast, launched in 2024.

The podcast, Opening Doors with Rachel Dalinka, which wrapped its first season this spring, humanizes people who have been incarcerated by giving them the platform to tell their stories, such as what led them to prison, how they grew behind the walls, and what reentry looks like on the other side.

Dalinka has spoken with individuals who turned their lives around by founding nonprofits, with judges creating alternatives to incarceration, and with national leaders in reentry programs. Her interviews highlight what is often lost in public debate. They emphasize the fact that these are not statistics, but people, parents, children, workers, whose futures depend on whether society will give them another chance.

For Dalinka, the podcast is about destigmatization and advocacy. She is already working to bring episodes onto tablets inside prisons, ensuring the voices of redemption reach those still serving time.

Beyond the podcast, Dalinka is developing a new model that bridges the gap between workforce development and reentry. Her vision is to create programs that prepare both employees and employers for success. This includes teaching incarcerated individuals digital literacy, professionalism, and workplace culture before release, while also training companies on how to support, mentor, and grow employees who carry the label of "formerly incarcerated."

This dual approach, Dalinka believes, is essential to breaking the cycle of recidivism and creating sustainable paths forward. In her words, the dream is that "people might even leave incarceration ready with a decent job", a goal that could change the trajectory of entire families.

And it's this mission that Rachel Dalinka aims to expand in season two of her podcast, highlighting global models of rehabilitation, from the Swedish system of community-based incarceration to innovative programs within Philadelphia.

Dalinka's long-term goal is to take the insights she's gathered through RAD Consulting, community partnerships, and her podcast, and scale them nationally. She envisions consulting with corporations and nonprofits across the country, helping them design programs that not only hire people with barriers but also support them in building real careers.

Her journey has been marked by hardship and transformation, but at its core is a belief in the possibility of redemption. For Dalinka, reentry goes beyond jobs; it's about healing, both for the individual and their families. She has seen firsthand how one opportunity and one chance can change everything. And with her work, she is determined to make sure more people get their chance.