Rachel Sukeforth Leveled Up Her Data Skills to Help More Mainers

When Litchfield, Maine native Rachel Sukeforth graduated from college in upstate New York, she knew that Maine was where she wanted to build her life. “I never wanted to miss another Maine autumn,” she shared with a chuckle. After a stint working at a composting and soil testing lab, she took a job doing data coordination work at the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC). She enjoyed the work, but realized she was lacking the data skills to advance her career. With a master’s in analytics from Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies, the Maine Office of Behavioral Health is where she’s building her career.

For Rachel, the Alfond Scholars Initiative played a critical role in her ability to pursue a graduate degree. “I love to learn and had been thinking about taking a class here and there – the scholarship helped me see that doing a full degree was possible.” Beginning her studies as a part-time student in the spring of 2021, she was able to progress through the program at the pace that was right for her. 

“Being able to take classes in the evenings and doing homework on the weekends worked for me. The six-week sessions were really appealing, too.” It wasn’t always easy, but it was worth it. Her advice for someone considering attending grad school while working? “Don’t be shy in asking for help! Have honest conversations with the people around you and with yourself about what you can and can’t do.” 

Rachel has held multiple roles over the years at the Maine CDC, seeking out new opportunities to broaden her skillset while working to improve Mainers’ lives. She got her start as a data coordinator for Maine’s radon program, a role which included lots of data cleaning. Then she did a stint as an environmental scientist in the emissions section of the Department of Environmental Protection, before heading back to the CDC as a data coordinator for the Tobacco Use Prevention Program.  

Along the way, she applied for a role that she didn’t get. “The feedback about my soft skills was great, but I knew I didn’t have all of the hard skills. Having the safety of a full-time job in a field that I enjoyed, and being able to take classes to complement that work and help myself advance, was just what I needed.” 

Fast forward to 2025 and she’s been promoted to the role of supervisor for data and quality in the Office of Behavioral Health. “I now supervise a data team. It means I don’t spend as much time on data analytics myself, but I spend a lot of time talking with people about what they need out of data. My degree gave me the skills I needed to understand business needs and processes and identify how we can use the tools we have to solve business problems.” 

With her master’s degree under her belt, Rachel’s focus is on becoming more of a subject matter expert in her current role, and to build upon her skills as a leader and supervisor.