Rachel Hood (born October 12, 1976) is an American politician from

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. Hood is a Democratic member of Michigan House of Representatives from the old District 76, but now represents District 81.

Early life

On October 12, 1976, Hood was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

or Livonia, Michigan.

Education

In 1999, Hood earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in Social Relations from Michigan State University. According to some sources, Hood also earned a degree in Public Policy from Michigan State University's

James Madison College Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

Early career

In 2000, Hood started her career as an executive director of West Grand Neighborhood Association, where she was involved in crime prevention and community development. In 2005, Hood was a Community Relations Manager at

Metro Health Hospital University of Michigan Health-West, formerly known as Metro Health – University of Michigan Health, is a nonprofit health system affiliated with University of Michigan Health, with primary and specialty care services at 30 locations in West Mi ...

Wyoming, Michigan Wyoming is a city in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 76,501 at the 2020 census. Wyoming is the second most-populated community in the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is bordered by Grand Rapids on the northeas ...

. Hood is a co-founder of Local First and City Built Brewing Company. Hood is a former strategist consultant at Dig Deep Research. She is also the former executive director of the West Michigan Environmental Action Council. In the 2016 elections in Kent County, Hood ran for

Drain Commissioner A drain commissioner is an elected official in county government of the U.S. state of Michigan who is responsible for planning, developing and maintaining surface water drainage systems under Public Act 40 of 1956. In counties with a population unde ...

but lost the election in a close race.

State legislature

On November 6, 2018, Hood won the election and became a Democratic member of Michigan House of Representatives for District 76. Hood defeated Amanda Brand with 60% of the vote. Hood successfully ran for re-election in 2020 with 62% of the vote. She ran successfully for her third consecutive term in 2022, this time for the 81st House District, due to statewide re-districting. She ran against one-term State Representative

Lynn Afendoulis Lynn Afendoulis (born November 3, 1958) is an American politician from the state of Michigan. A Republican, she served as a member of Michigan House of Representatives from the 73rd district from 2019 to 2021. Early life and education Afend ...

of Grand Rapids and won with 55% of the vote.

Personal life

Hood's husband is Dave Petroelje. They have two children, Evelyn and Ineke. Hood and her family live in

. She is a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

References

External links

Rachel Hood at ballotpedia.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hood, Rachel 1979 births 21st-century American politicians Living people Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Politicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan Women state legislators in Michigan Michigan State University alumni 21st-century American women politicians