Rachel is Levin Sources’ Director of Responsible Raw Materials. She has extensive expertise in political and governance issues in the responsible mining and responsible mineral trade sectors. She leads the company’s work advising on policy around mineral sector governance, programme implementation and up-stream research with a special focus on energy transition-critical minerals and conflict minerals. Rachel is a member of the Technical Advisory Committee providing technical knowledge and support to the Global Investor Commission on Mining 2030.
She has overseen teams delivering a variety of projects for Levin Sources, ranging from working with large scale gold mining clients to support their ability to sustainably manage artisanal miners on and around their mining concessions, to research projects for multilateral and bilateral donor governments to help them understand the political and conflict economy of the critical minerals sector in certain geographies and strategic advisory projects dealing with the nexus between mining and other key sustainability issues, including environment and development.
From 2019 to Dec 2023, Rachel was Project Director for USAID's Zahabu Safi (Clean Gold) Project, which aimed to develop and deliver activities to establish a commercially-viable, responsible and conflict-free supply chain for artisanal and small-scale (ASM) gold from eastern DRC. She led the workstream focused on creating a demand in the downstream market including by building supply chain relationships between gold refiners and jewellers and other upstream partners, especially through advising on due diligence and commercial linkages.
Prior to joining Levin Sources, Rachel held senior roles working for the UK government with a focus on conflict, security and development issues. She has worked extensively in the DRC and the Great Lakes Region, including spells in Kinshasa (2002-4) and Goma (2009-10). Her work has also looked at the impact of natural resources on conflict in the DRC and the region, and she was part of the UK government team that helped set up the Kimberley Process in 2001-2. Most recently, Rachel was leading the UK government’s conflict and security programming across eastern Africa, based in Nairobi.
Rachel has also worked on UN peacekeeping and UN development issues, in New Delhi on climate change and energy, and on Afghanistan policy from London. She is an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), 2011.
Education & skills
- History degree from Cambridge University (Jesus College)
- Spoken languages – English, French
