Rachelle Rutherford
Lindon,UT
Summary
A visionary, multifaceted CEO with over 20+years of executive leadership across nonprofit, telecommunications, healthcare, autism services, education, and genealogy sectors. Proven in driving multimillion-dollar revenue growth, leading large-scale turnarounds, managing $16.8M+ budgets, overseeing 275+ employees, negotiating high-value contracts, and executing strategic capital campaigns ($150M+).
Recognized for transformative leadership, child advocacy, Forbes authorship, and prestigious national awards. Seeking C-suite opportunities to lead mission-driven organizations with sustainable impact and innovation.
Overview
25
25
years of professional experience
14
14
years of post-secondary education
3
3
Certificates
Work History
Chief Executive Officer
Kids On The Move
Orem, Utah
09.2021 - Current
- Led strategic initiatives, facilitating revenue increases from $8.5M to $16.8M within five years, scaling the workforce to 275 employees, and assisting 3,200 children annually, while fortifying and expanding the operations of a 40-year nonprofit organization.
- Championed creation of Gold Standard of Care for children with delays and disabilities within heavily regulated environment featuring complex funding streams, including private pay, federal and state grants, private insurance, Medicaid, and philanthropic donations, resulting in clean financial and program audits while fostering strong leadership and integrating cross-functional teams.
- Scaled Autism Services achieved 29.75% year-over-year growth on average, with unprecedented revenue growth by implementing Domo data analytics, strengthening clinical team collaboration, and establishing outcome-focused clinical and financial KPIs, while achieving national accreditation from the Autism Commission on Quality.
- Maintained exceptionally low administrative costs at 12.47%, achieved clean financial and program federal and state audits, and expanded impact into Latin America—advocating for families in Peru, Argentina, and beyond. Recognized and invited to partner on global projects with UNICEF and UNESCO.
- Cultivate team empowerment by prioritizing active listening, effective communication, accountability, and a strong commitment to collaboration—creating an environment where innovation thrives and every voice amplifies the mission.
- I spearheaded the Hope In Motion campaign to build a state-of-the-art Center of Excellence Campus, offering comprehensive services for children with developmental delays, disabilities, and autism.
- Revamped organization to strengthen brand presence, driving forward-thinking marketing strategy and harnessing social media with executive team to secure larger donors and strategic partnerships while championing comprehensive care for families.
Chief Executive Officer/ President
Elevated Capital Advisor
Lindon, Utah
01.2019 - Current
- Mentored and coached business owners on growth strategies and forecasting, creating key business and financial metrics to enhance revenue streams and profitability.
- Developed mentorship program for executives to achieve personal and professional goals, empowering them to take charge of their lives.
- Led cross-functional teams in executing operational projects and business strategies, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives.
Chief Operating Officer
Kids On The Move
Orem, Utah
09.2020 - 09.2021
- Drove successful company turnaround by implementing strategic operational improvements.
Transformed team dynamics by replacing underperforming staff with skilled leaders.
Modernized policies and procedures, ensuring alignment with system-dependent requirements.
Digitized records to facilitate efficient data management and retrieval.
Initiated ongoing staff training and development to foster a culture of growth.
Launched succession planning processes to maintain organizational continuity and effectiveness. - Transformed accounts receivable performance and client accessibility, dropping write-offs from 28% to 0.5%, with a realized impact of $6.8M in sustainable funding for program innovation, staff compensation, organizational resilience through empowering clinicians, strategic initiatives, robust policies, and family-focused payment planning.
- Implemented performance metrics to drive team accountability and productivity improvements.
- Replaced systems and software, enhancing workflows in HR, Finance, IT, Data Storage, Marketing, Development, Asset Tracking, and created program and department dashboards.
- Secured volatile federal contract valued at $12.5 million, enabling risk management solutions.
- Enhanced service quality through client surveys, documented standard operating procedures, ongoing training, conducted internal audits, and establishing targeted benchmarks exceeding contract and regulatory requirements.
Chief Executive Officer
The American Campus, Mauritius Africa
01.2016 - 01.2019
- Led recruiting initiatives for potential students from Africa and India, establishing referral partners and strategic relationships that enhanced student enrollment efforts.
- Cultivated relationships with media outlets, news, television, and radio to secure interviews and disseminate information regarding University, facilitating presentations at secondary schools, universities, and conferences in India and Africa aimed at enrolling prospective students.
- Established partnerships and negotiated contracts with Sacred Heart University, Utah Valley University, Utah State University, and others to bring English as a Second Language and bachelor's degrees at a reduced rate, along with qualified professors from accredited American universities to Mauritius, Africa.
- Built partnerships with local businesses and stakeholders to create internship opportunities and student housing, supporting student integration into the local community.
Chief Operating Officer
Kids On The Move
Orem, Utah
01.2014 - 05.2016
- Led strategic operations for a $7M annual budget nonprofit, overseeing Finance, HR, IT, Development, Marketing, and multiple programs, while reporting to the CEO and the Board of Directors.
- Transitioned the organization from operating in independent silos to a unified organization, with unique regulatory and financial requirements for each program, creating a culture shift.
- Spearheaded Autism Medicaid waiver operational procedures and the collection of $1 million in accounts receivable.
- Lead the organization through private insurance paneling, operational policies and procedures, and new Autism Services and accreditation requirements. Stabilizing the startup program.
- Collaborated with leadership to establish long-term goals and strategic initiatives, forecasted budget, and achieved financial objectives, aligning operations with the organizational vision.
- Managed resource allocation to ensure optimal service delivery for families and children.
- Increased annual fundraising from $70,000 to $400,000 through targeted strategies, including foundations, grants, appeals, and donor appreciation.
Strategic Relations
FamilySearch.org
Orem, Utah
01.2012 - 01.2014
- Led high-stakes negotiations with European partners (BrightSolid/DC Thomson Family History, Findmypast, Genes Reunited), structuring value exchanges (1M–150M+ digital images/records, indexes, databases, audience reach, technical capabilities, monetary terms) to expand global access.
- Negotiated over $5M plus in technical and content acquisition contracts for compute, storage, network, software, cloud, and genealogy records and products, enhancing access to the world’s largest depository of genealogical records.
- Managed partnership lifecycles, executive relationships, vendor relationships, and budgets for sustained growth.
Account Director
Level 3 Communications
Salt Lake City, Utah
04.2010 - 12.2011
- Executed "Go Local" strategy to strengthen telecom presence in enterprise segment across Utah/Idaho, cultivating Fortune 1000 partnerships and driving multimillion-dollar revenue.
- Formulated strategic roadmaps, orchestrated contract negotiations, and oversaw complete sales lifecycle, driving cross-functional teams toward successful results.
- Mediated conflicts between clients and internal teams to ensure satisfaction and alignment with project goals. between clients' needs and organizational resources.
Global Account Manager
Sprint
Salt Lake City, UT
11.2000 - 04.2010
- Secured $105M 5-year wireless contract (+ $360M estimated secondary revenue) by displacing legacy providers.
- Won a major global wide area network contract, enabling 50% cost savings via IP-based Ethernet migration.
- Negotiated contract terms with finance and stakeholders, securing favorable agreements that aligned with strategic goals.
- Collaborated with Boston Consulting to develop and present three client business cases, recognized for strongest proposals among global account managers, leading to key approvals from the executive team.
- Developed quarterly business reviews for each assigned global account, enhancing client engagement and strategic alignment.
- Managed and coordinated with Global cross-functional sales teams to present, deliver and implement effective solutions for clients.
Education
Master of Science - Business Administration
University of Phoenix
Salt Lake City, ut 02.2011 - 04.2013
Bachelor of Science - Finance
University of Phoenix
Salt Lake City, Ut 03.2002 - 04.2008
Bachelor of Science - Business Management
University of Phoenix
Salt Lake City, UT 05.2002 - 04.2008
Skills
- Strategic visioning and planning
- Inspirational leadership
- Executive presence
- Transformative leadership
- Turnaround management
- Effective decision making
- Global perspective
- Board collaboration
- Stakeholder engagement
- Corporate governance
- Business acumen
- Profit and loss management
- Revenue growth
- Sales growth
- Performance metrics
- Business forecasting
- Analytical thinking
- Data analysis
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Operational excellence
- Regulatory compliance
- Adaptability
- Problem solving
- Risk management
- Professionalism
- Public and stage speaking
- Media relations
- Television and podcast interviews
- Published Forbes book author and published Forbes articles
Certification
Certified Master Coach, Circle of Champions, 2023
Accomplishments
Mrs. Universe, Global Platform: Defend Innocence, 2025/2026
Nelson Mandela Children's Fund Lifetime Achievement Award, 2025
Most Influential Woman Honoree, Utah Business, 2025
Best Company for Women, Comparably, 2025 nationally and employee ranked
BOSS Award Winner, Community Development, 2025
Business Leadership Excellence Award, CXO 2.0, 2025
100 Companies Championing Women, Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity, 2025
Best CEO, Best Culture, Comparably, 2024
Amazon #1 Best Seller & New Release in 10 Categories, authored "Chasing The Impossible" published by Forbes, 2024
10 Best CEO's of 2024 Industry Tech Outlook
Affiliations
Volunteer- Coach American Heritage- Girls Basketball/Junior High School and Freshman Team
Volunteer- Tabatha Way- Community Food Bank
Volunteer- Tabatha Way- Community Food Bank
Work Availability
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
sunday
morning
afternoon
evening
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Timeline
Chief Executive Officer
Kids On The Move
09.2021 - Current
Chief Operating Officer
Kids On The Move
09.2020 - 09.2021
Chief Executive Officer/ President
Elevated Capital Advisor
01.2019 - Current
Chief Executive Officer
The American Campus, Mauritius Africa
01.2016 - 01.2019
Chief Operating Officer
Kids On The Move
01.2014 - 05.2016
Strategic Relations
FamilySearch.org
01.2012 - 01.2014
Master of Science - Business Administration
University of Phoenix
02.2011 - 04.2013
Account Director
Level 3 Communications
04.2010 - 12.2011
Bachelor of Science - Business Management
University of Phoenix
05.2002 - 04.2008
Bachelor of Science - Finance
University of Phoenix
03.2002 - 04.2008
Global Account Manager
Sprint
11.2000 - 04.2010
Board of Directors
- Board of Directors- Elite Performance Consulting- October 2025- Present
Elite Performance Consultants act as strategic partners, unlocking potential by merging mindset mastery with practical strategies for sustained high achievement
- Board of Directors- Prevent Child Abuse Utah- August 2013-June 2025 /Advisor: June 2025 to present
Advanced child protection through advocacy for key laws (HB286, SB205), parent education programs, and statewide prevention initiatives.
- Board of Directors- KOTM- March 2013-December 2013
Empowering Families- One child at a time