By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Rachele Bouchand
How does one go from being a biology major in California, with ballet as a concentration, to a successful financial planner in Bellevue, and a new Rotary district governor to boot? Rachele Bouchand credits good mentorship throughout her career. We also credit initiative and drive.
“I was really fortunate and I started at Merrill Lynch when I was 22 years old,” Bouchand told the Asian Weekly. She had decided by then that working in a lab wasn’t going to do it for her. “I wasn’t cut out to be a scientist. I’m too extroverted.” She’d given it a go, and in the meantime, she’d learned that in any field, creativity and rational thinking can work together. As a financial planner, where Bouchand headed and where she still is, “I was able to use my math skills and my logic skills,” and, bonus, “interact with people.” Bouchand is currently a managing director with Pathstone in Bellevue and the new 2024 to 2025 Rotary district 5030 governor.
Rotary district 5030 includes the Seattle metropolitan area and several surrounding communities. As Bouchand told us (she is a walking Rotary encyclopedia), Rotary International is one of the largest secular organizations in the world. It was part of the founding of the United Nations (UN), and from there, took the organization of the UN as its model. Bouchand has been with the Rotary since 2009. She admits that, like many people, she had a misconception about it at first. “In my mind, it was a bunch of old guys [who] wear funny hats and have secret handshakes.”
Not so. Bouchand learned, thanks to a client of hers that became her Rotary sponsor, that the Rotary is much more. It is heavily involved in philanthropy around the world, as well as nurturing the leadership qualities of its members. Bouchand’s sponsor said to her, “You need to stop playing small, join Rotary, make a big impact, and grow your network.” He was right. At first, Bouchand thought she would just stop by and (politely) get this guy off her back.
“But he was smart. He introduced me to other members, so I could get to know people.” Bouchand found out about a micro financing project where a woman had a loan to buy a cow in India and for the first time in her life, she was able to provide food for her family on a regular basis and send her kids to school. “That moment changed me. I said, ‘Wow, I can do things here that I can’t do on my own, much bigger things than I can do volunteering [by myself]. That’s why I joined Rotary.”
The Asian Weekly asked Bouchand if she felt that the Rotary was a diverse place to be, as a common misconception is that it’s mostly white people.
“It’s a work in progress like everything else,” she answered. Bouchand herself is “mostly” Filipina. “We want to reach out more to our community because you can do better work with more voices at the table.” She recognizes that, for the Asian American and Pacific Islander population, joining Rotary might be “intimidating,” yet she notes that what Rotary looks like and who they are is not what you might think.
In fact, Seattle’s Chinatown-International District has an impressive history with Rotary.
“Our International District does quite a few global projects around the world and our district itself does more global projects than any other district in the world,” Bouchand informed us. The International District Rotary “club” (Rotary is subdivided within each district and every subdivision has its own unique character) was the first club in Washington state to bring in women members, including two Asians — Assunta Ng and Dolores Sibonga. District 5030 has a total of about 50 clubs.
“Most people choose a club that is near where they live or near where they work,” Bouchand shared. In each club, “you can find different personalities” as well as different focuses. “We have one that’s focused only on the environment.” Another meets only online. A third likes to prioritize student scholarships; another, women and maternal health.
Bouchand recommends Rotary for anyone who wants to expand their leadership skills and grow their impact. She also believes that it’s a great place to find connections.
“I’ve seen a lot of people the last few years have gotten really isolated,” she observed. “They want a little bit more social interaction…We have a lot of newer retirees that look for Rotary because they don’t have work anymore. This is a way they can use all their skills and spend time with their friends.”
Bouchand’s father came to the United States from the Philippines when he was 12 years old. He was already a citizen because his father had been in the U.S. Army. Her mom’s dad moved to California by himself when he was 16. Bouchand grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. What she learned from her mom is “always do your work first” and “always clean up.” At home, it was required to always be ready for whoever might come through the door, i.e., always be prepared for opportunity. Her dad, too, emphasized preparedness, in part due to time spent in the Marines in Vietnam. Her dad doesn’t talk about that experience much, but she knows that he experienced some racism along the way.
“His big thing was…you always have to work harder [and] make sure you’re doing your absolute best.” Bouchand feels the same applies to her as someone with Asian heritage, and as a woman. “Sometimes you have to prove it,” she acknowledged, though she feels fortunate for the champions she has had in her life thus far. “It’s never going to be easy. You’ll have setbacks, but if it’s worth it, it’s worth the extra work,” she said.
Bouchand attended Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, where the focus is on science and engineering, yet they also want their students to have a strong ethical mindset, so they ask them to take a Humanities concentration.
“I did ballet all the way through college,” she told us. She recently started up again with adult classes at Pacific Northwest Ballet. “That’s my relaxing thing that I do just for myself [and] I get a good workout.” Bouchand’s husband grew up in France. The couple has a daughter who they send to French language immersion school. Bouchand said she wished she had learned to speak Tagalog. Her dad tried to teach the kids a few words, but of course he was busy, while her mother spoke a different dialect.
“A lot of culture is lost when you don’t take the time [to learn the language],” she said, though she is realistic about her upbringing. “It’s just natural that it happened…at least I had food culture!”
Now, most of Bouchand’s free time is spent with the Rotary. She’s excited about the road ahead. One of the plans for her tenure as district governor is to focus on “expanding leadership opportunities through training…to make an impact in our local communities and the world,” she told us. “I’m excited to serve my term in the 2024-25 year. We welcome individuals who are looking for a place where they can use their unique skills to make a positive impact in the community.
Kai can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.