Daniel Rakowski is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biochemistry.  He began his career in 1971 in the Philadelphia Department of Public Health working in the field as a supervisor and as an administrator in Environmental Health Services.  He moved on to administrative positions with the Division of Maternal and Child Health and the Public Health Laboratory.

Mr. Rakowski left the Health Department in 1982 to become head of the Analysis and Planning Unit of the Philadelphia Department of Public Welfare (now the Department of Human Services).  He eventually became the Administrative Services Director for that department.

In late 1987, Mr. Rakowski transferred to the Philadelphia Prison System and assumed the position of Special Assistant to the Commissioner.  In 1994, he assumed the duties of Administrative Services Director of the Philadelphia Prison System.