New York, October 6, 2015—Rachel Pratt has been named senior vice president, youth & community services, of New York Road Runners, it was announced today by Michael Capiraso, president and CEO of New York Road Runners.

“Rachel brings years of successful and complementary non-profit, youth, and community experience to NYRR,” said Capiraso. “As our organization grows our youth and community programs, events, and resources in New York City and beyond, Rachel will play an instrumental role in building on the great success we have had, and defining new strategies focused on delivering these significant services in support of hundreds of thousands of kids moving and running towards a healthier lifestyle.”

In her new role, Pratt will develop and implement new strategies for growth within the youth and community services sector of NYRR and build on the organization’s achievements in this area. She will focus on plans surrounding expanding the population of youth who participate in NYRR youth running and community programs and events, enhancing relationships with city agencies, and will closely collaborate with internal stakeholders to increase awareness of NYRR’s efforts in the community. Pratt will report to Capiraso.  

Pratt comes to New York Road Runners from the Adoption Exchange Association where she served as Chief Executive Officer for eight years. The Adoption Exchange Association is a national membership organization and the lead agency in AdoptUsKids, the Children’s Bureau’s national initiative to recruit and support foster and adoptive families for waiting children.

Prior to the Adoption Exchange Association, Rachel served for 12 years at the NYC Administration for Children’s Services, with nearly three years spent as Assistant Commissioner, managing a staff of 500 with responsibility for more than 17,000 children in foster care. For ten years at the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, Rachel built the infrastructure to create and manage the City’s foster and adoptive recruitment initiatives.

Rachel’s career has included consulting for non-profit and government organizations on issues related to interoperability, governance, privacy and confidentiality, marketing, administration, and fundraising. She has served in the Discretionary Grant Review Program for the Administration for Children and Families, and is a member of several Boards of Directors for national and New York City-based organizations. She has also taught Public Policy in graduate programs at New York University and New School University, has authored several publications, and has presented on adoption and child welfare throughout the United States and Canada.

Pratt holds an M.S. in Non-Profit Management from New School University. She is the mother of three children and she lives with her family in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Pratt is also a runner, having taken up the sport in 2008 motivated by a 25 year-old promise to someday run a marathon. She ran her first marathon the following year and has been running ever since.

About NYRR 

Founded in 1958, New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization, whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. NYRR’s commitment to New York City’s five boroughs features races, community events, youth running initiatives, school programs, and training resources that provide hundreds of thousands of people each year, from children to seniors, with the motivation, know-how, and opportunity to Run for Life. NYRR’s premier event, and the largest marathon in the world, is the TCS New York City Marathon. Held annually on the first Sunday in November, the race features 50,000 runners, from the world’s top professional athletes to a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners. To learn more, visit www.nyrr.org.