Rachel Galvez

I was born in DaNang Vietnam, adopted when I was one, and grew up in New Canaan, Connecticut. My parents came from American working-class backgrounds, were the first in their families to attend college, and built successful businesses. They valued education, contributing to our community, and finding a career that you are passionate about. They instilled these values in me.

From a young age, I was driven to work towards social improvement and had strong expectations of contributing to a world which had afforded me so many options. My inspiration to make the world a better place comes from a gratitude I’ve always had from being adopted out of a war-torn Third World country into an incredibly loving and hard-working family.

After college, I discovered philanthropy working for a New York based private family Foundation. The idea of “those who have” giving to “those in need” mirrored my life. It was during this time that I was exposed to finance, and I decided to pursue an MBA to learn more.

Finance is, on one hand, about numbers, NPV, and risk-adjusted returns, but it’s also about creating capital to fund projects that wouldn’t happen, companies that wouldn’t exist and dreams that wouldn’t otherwise come true.

I believe exposure to different cultures inspires creativity and broadens our perspective.

I’m a co-founder of the SEA2C foundation. Our mission is to reconnect adoptees from the war in Vietnam with their birth families and to provide emotional healing for veterans.