Richard is the Director of Policy for The 51 Group. Prior to joining The 51 Group, Richard spent more than thirteen years working on policy and legislative matters at the federal and state levels. Richard’s clients range from national membership organizations, higher education institutions, education technology companies, and assessment companies.

Richard previously served as Senior Analyst of Policy, Advocacy, and Government Relations for ACT, Inc. Richard worked on the organization’s policy development, federal government relations, and state government relations teams. Before ACT, Richard worked for Deloitte Consulting, leading human capital projects for the federal government. He has extensive experience in the education space working for the Department of Education and serving as a high school teacher for a number of years.

In 2018, after nine years working in D.C., Rich relocated back to Chicago where he continued his work in government relations. Richard holds graduate degrees in International Education Policy from Harvard University and Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Illinois. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Illinois. In his spare time, Richard loves to tend to his garden, play softball, and explore all that his city has to offer.