Richard began his career in the banking industry with the Salem Five Cents Bank in Salem, Massachusetts. A longtime volunteer within many Boston youth programs across the city; Richard developed a sense of duty and launched an exceptional career within Boston’s non-profit sector. Throughout his career, Richard has served a variety of constituencies including youth, parents, gang involved youth, community, business, philanthropic and government leaders. He is a national leader in the youth development, education and public safety fields and has provided training for youth development and philanthropic organizations nationally. Before launching a successful career in the field of philanthropy, Richard spent nearly 12 years in leadership roles within Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, Hattie B. Cooper Community Center, and The Committee for Boston Public Housing, where he also served as their executive directors and helped turn around these once struggling and important institutions.
In 2000, he joined the Boston Foundation, one of the country’s oldest and largest community Foundations in the country where he served in many leadership roles. During his tenure Richard provided leadership to the Foundations grantmaking activities as well as several “highly impactful” special initiatives and projects, including the expansion of after school programs for youth and teens, the reform of CORI regulations, and other enhanced public safety efforts.
His skills in research, convening, organizing and providing an influential community presence has helped to bring about constructive reforms to the Massachusetts criminal justice system and has leveraged millions in new resources for local youth and education programs. Richard has also served as Executive Director of the Brookline Community Foundation, the New England Center for Arts & Technology and has served as Vice President, Strategic Partnerships with Neighborhood Health Plan.
Richard has kept an active presence on local and statewide Boards, advisory committees and as a community volunteer. In 2003 he was appointed by Governor Mitt Romney, to the Governor’s Commission on Criminal Justice Innovation, in 2004 to the Department of Conservation and Recreation Stewardship Council, and in 2007 he was appointed by Mayor Tom Menino to Boston’s Action Planning Team, which helped to develop a strategic action plan to promote school readiness. He is a founding member of New England Blacks in Philanthropy and a member of the Association for Black Foundation Executives.
In his spare time Richard is a decorated softball coach in the Red Sox Foundations RBI Program where he coached the Yawkey Blue Jays Softball Program which served 60 girls at the Yawkey Club annually. Richard also is a coach and instructor with the Base in Roxbury. In 2019, Richard was recognized on field at the 2019 Major league Baseball World Series as Major League Baseball’s Reviving Baseball in the Inner City (RBI) Softball “Coach of the Year;” and in 2020, was recognized as a national winner for Positive Coaching Alliances “Double Goal Coach Award,” an award given to coaches that model – striving to win, while also pursuing the more important goal of teaching life lessons through sport. Richard says, he coaches because he loves healthy competition, developing leaders, and with helping others to build strong teams, whether at work, or at play. Richard is an avid sportsman who enjoys skiing, hiking, and biking. He is a former Track & Field All-American and a 1984 Olympic qualifier in the 400M intermediate hurdles. He has raced against some of the top athletes in the country including Edwin Moses. Richard lives in West Roxbury with his wife Zina, and three young adult children that grew up and are alumni of the Yawkey Club of Roxbury. Says, Richard, “I could not be happier to be back with the Clubs, and working with Robert, to assure that Boston, and Chelsea young people have the best opportunity to engage their talents to make our cities great!”
