ABOUT
I built Rae & Rae because compliance work should reflect the people it's meant to protect.
I'm Alyssa Buchholz, a Deaf Latina, native ASL user, and the founder of Rae & Rae Access Consulting. I know what it's like to be the Deaf patient in the room where nothing works. I also know how to build the systems that fix it. That's not a common combination.
Before founding Rae & Rae, I served as Chief Operating Officer at a national Deaf mental health organization, where I led operations, built compliance infrastructure, and worked directly with clinical teams and federal partners. That work showed me how much is lost when the people writing compliance policy have never had to use it.
I started this consultancy to change that.
Rae & Rae works at the intersection of civil rights compliance, organizational operations, and cultural competency with a particular focus on Deaf and hard of hearing communities, LEP populations, and the healthcare organizations that serve them.
That means ADA, Section 1557, and Title VI compliance strategy for FQHCs and health systems. It means stepping in when organizations need expert implementation support without a full-time hire. And it means Deaf culture competency training for clinical teams and administrative staff who want to do better, not just check a box.
I serve on two New Jersey state advisory committees focused on Deaf health and mental health access. I also teach American Sign Language at The College of New Jersey, equipping future practitioners with the language skills and cultural grounding to work effectively with Deaf communities.
When you work with Rae & Rae, you're getting someone who has been in the room, as a patient, as an interpreter, as a COO, and as a policy advisor. That breadth is the work.
“Compliance isn’t a checkbox. It’s the infrastructure that determines whether a patient can actually access the care they came for.”
Ready to work together?
Whether you need a compliance gap assessment, a Language Access Plan, or a framework your staff can actually implement — start with a conversation.
THE WORK