Richard has worked for more than 35 years at the intersection of business, politics, and policy. His career has spanned the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, domestically and internationally, and involved a range of leading-edge issues, including sustainable economy, democracy, and clean energy. Richard served as Business for America’s Membership Manager and National Policy Director from 2018 to 2025, leading bipartisan advocacy campaigns on Capitol Hill on the Voting Rights Advancement Act, Electoral Count Reform Act, Building Civic Bridges Act, and other legislation.

In 2009, he co-founded the American Sustainable Business Council and served as vice president for policy for ten years. In that role, Richard directed membership and led state and national advocacy campaigns on the environment, energy, regulatory reform, workplace, campaign finance, and economic development issues. Richard directed ASBC’s work on Capitol Hill and with the Obama administration.

In the 1980s, he worked for five years as a senior troubleshooter for New York City government in two departments, focusing on identifying potential corruption and mismanagement. Beginning in the mid-1990s, he devoted the next ten years to growing the U.S. solar energy industry, building sales networks, and advocating for state and federal legislation and regulations to create new markets. From 1995 to 2000, Richard led training seminars for Fortune 1000 companies for Boston College’s Center for Corporate Citizenship. In 2007–2008, he co-directed the Colorado Cleantech for Obama campaign and helped craft gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter’s “New Energy Economy” strategy. Building on these experiences, Richard served as the business outreach director for the Apollo Alliance from 2005 to 2008, advocating for federal and state clean energy and job-creation policies. Beginning in 2010 and continuing through 2021, Richard was adjunct faculty at the University of Denver on environmental policy and sustainability.

On the international front, beginning in 1990 Richard consulted for four years to the U.N. Environment Programme, where he organized a series of groundbreaking conferences for business on sustainable investment opportunities. During this time, he attended the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and helped launch the U.N. Environmental Finance Initiative, as well as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.

He earned a master’s in public administration from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Richard has resided in Denver for 22 years.