Brief Bio
Rachel, a native of West Virginia, had a diverse upbringing filled with various extracurricular activities including church groups (Youth Fellowship President), 4-H club and active camper, Rainbow Assembly for Girls (Local and State Offices), school bands, piano, and ballet dancing. After completing high school, she initially attended a local community college before discovering Bauder Fashion College in Atlanta, where she pursued courses in Interior Design, Fashion Design & Merchandising, and Modeling/Professionalism, graduating with high marks.
She furthered her education at the University of Charleston, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interior Design from the Carleton Varney School of Art & Design. During her time at UC, she interned at Dorothy Draper, Inc. in New York City, under the mentorship of Mr. Carleton Varney. After graduation, she worked at Contemporary Galleries of West Virginia, Inc., quickly rising from junior designer to senior designer and eventually becoming an independent contractor offering a wide range of design services.
Rachel's design career spanned two decades, during which she worked on diverse projects ranging from office furniture systems to healthcare, hospitality, education, government, industrial, museum, and stage design. Notably, she dedicated five years to the renovation of the West Virginia State Museum, which opened in 2009.
In her personal life, Rachel met her husband, the honorable Robert "Bob" Beach, in Charleston, and moved to his hometown of Morgantown. Together, they became parents to twin boys in 2008. Bob served as a public servant in the West Virginia State Legislature for 22 years in both the House of Delegates and Senate, while Rachel balanced supporting her husband's career, raising her children, and advancing her own educational and professional endeavors.
In 2010, Rachel received a faculty appointment at Pierpont Community & Technical College, eventually becoming an Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator for the Applied Design Program which offers both Fashion Merchandising and Interior Design concentrations. Additionally, she took on leadership roles, such as Faculty Senate Offices, President of the West Virginia Affiliate of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences in 2020, serving on the SPARK! Board of Directors for 3 years in Morgantown, member of the Marion County Historical Society from 2011-2018, attending and serving at Wesley United Methodist church, and served on the planning committee for the WV State Technology Conference for 2023.
Rachel's achievements are diverse from 2014 NISOD Excellence Award (Listing ), member of the 2020 National Society of Leadership & Success WVU Chapter, some grants and most recently recognized internationally in 2021 when she received acclaim for her proposal in hospitality design for the 3rd floor of the Advanced Technology Center in White Hall, West Virginia. 2022 LIV Hospitality Design Awards LINK
2024 had the highlights of a new partnership with the Marion & Taylor Counties Salvation Army Fashion Show. A nation wide movement to raise funds for the non-profit. This was a successful event in June with the Pierpont Foundation and Applied Design Fashion students. Re-Fashioned Website
2024 also included with Rachel serving as the Interim Director of the STREAM Maker Camp that July. A fully grant funded event for the Marion and Harrison counties region. The camp was the 5th one with the partnership between Nuts Bolts and Thingamajigs and Pierpont. It had the highest attendance to date! Maker Camp Website
2025 had a significant change with the appointment to the faculty at West Virginia University College of Creative Arts and Media's School of Art and Design in the Interior Architecture Program, marking a new phase in her professional journey.
