About

I’m a UX researcher, which means I study how people interact with technology and emerging tools like AI. My job is understanding the gap between what technologists build and what humans actually need. I’ve spent years helping teams create better products by bridging that divide.

But somewhere along the way, I realized I was living proof of that gap myself. Despite working with cutting-edge innovation, I was overweight, anxious, and heading toward a serious health crisis. The very technologies I was helping others use intentionally were overwhelming me completely.

I had to make a choice: continue down a path that was destroying my physical health and mental wellbeing, or figure out how to live differently. That’s when I began my own renaissance, learning to master not just the analytical skills that built my career, but also the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual foundations I’d been neglecting.

The journey taught me that the solution wasn’t choosing between technology and wellness, but learning how to integrate them consciously. Ancient wisdom traditions understood something we’re rediscovering: true thriving comes from addressing all aspects of ourselves, not just optimizing our tools and systems.

Now I help others navigate that same integration. Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed by constant connectivity or seeking practical ways to stay grounded in our digital world, my work focuses on one thing: helping you live with intention rather than react to whatever demands your attention.

What follows is my journey from one end of this spectrum to the other—and how to find where you are on it too.

Finding my place on the renaissance spectrum

Don’t want to read? Listen to the story.

As a child, I was very imaginative and creative. I loved exploring, imagining, and playing outside in the dirt with my friends. I’d make up stories about the world around me and draw imaginative pictures of myself running off on the back of a dinosaur.

But over time, that creativity began to dim.

We moved to a completely different country—Germany—and I found myself feeling very insecure in my new environment. A teacher told me I couldn’t draw in class because I wasn’t paying attention. Another girl would make fun of me. I didn’t like that. So I started to retreat within and hide myself.

That pattern carried into my teenage years and early adulthood.

I got into the tech industry and became very focused on succeeding in that area. I realized I had become analytically dominant—my primary mode of thinking had shifted to something very structured and logical. Yet, when I was a child, I had been so creative. I began to miss those days. I started to ask myself: Where did my imagination and creativity go?

So I began a quest—to reground myself and reawaken that other side of me, so I could become more balanced. Through that process, I became Renaissance Rachel—a Renaissance type. I was reborn into someone who merges the analytical with the intuitive, returning to the essence I embodied as a child.

But the road wasn’t easy.

At the start, I had to reinvent myself from the ground up. I was overweight and heading toward serious health challenges. I had to completely transform my health—reinventing my diet, the way I thought about food, everything on the physical level. I had to begin to exercise, to move my body, and shift from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one.

Now, I’ve fine-tuned my diet and found a rhythm with movement. My body has never felt better. I feel younger than I did in my 20s—like I’m reverse aging.

As I healed my physical body, something else happened: I gained mental and emotional clarity. By getting outside, being in nature, and slowing down, I reconnected with myself. I made space for creativity and intuition. I realized that the anxiety I carried came from ungrounded perceptions—perceptions that distorted my reality.

Our body doesn’t know the difference between a wolf attacking and a looming deadline. I had been keeping myself in a chronic state of stress. Once I addressed the physical and emotional, I was able to go deeper—into spirituality.

I became a Celtic shaman, able to journey and access past lives—my own and others’. I now work with power animals and spirit guides. I’ve awakened to the magic all around us. Magic is real. It’s all about perception and what we have firewalled off.

My journey took me from being purely analytical to deeply intuitive—and finally to integrated.

Now, I’m in a place where I want to share what I’ve learned.

It is my mission and dream to make the world a better place by inspiring self-discovery and illuminating ways people can use technology intentionally. It’s no accident that I work in tech and am also fascinated with holistic health. There is a way to merge the two in a way that benefits all.

We’re living in an unprecedented time—technology is evolving at a pace never seen before. But within our bodies, we carry ancient wisdom ready to be unlocked. All you have to do is start listening. Start slowing down. Start expanding your awareness. Don’t be afraid to use modern tools—but don’t let them rule you.

That’s what I’m all about with Renaissance Rachel—bringing people together, supporting one another, and making the world better simply by being our true, authentic selves.

I didn’t know until recently that just by being myself, I could have a healing and powerful presence in the world. That’s what I hope to help others realize in themselves.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. I’m really excited to see where it goes and how we unfold and grow—together.

Where are you on your renaissance journey?

Everyone starts somewhere different on the spectrum between analytical and intuitive thinking. Some people, like me, get stuck in pure logic mode. Others are naturally intuitive but struggle with structure and systems.

The magic happens when you understand your natural tendencies and learn to develop the other side.

Take the Renaissance Spectrum Quiz to discover:

• Whether you’re more analytical, intuitive, or already integrating both
• Your unique cognitive strengths and blind spots
• Personalized next steps for your own inner renaissance

Ready to find out where you are—and where you’re headed?

Discover your unique cognitive style and begin your own inner renaissance.