Rick is the founder and CEO of Kids at Hope, an international child, and youth development organization that studies family, school, and community cultures to understand better the dynamics of success and failure.

Rick is also a professor of practice and clinical director within Arizona State University’s Center for the Advanced Study and Practice of HOPE the world’s first academic, research and community outreach center committed to the science and practice of HOPE.

Rick has spent 49 years in the field of child and youth development as a practitioner, researcher, teacher, public policy expert, and author.

He has published four books including Youth Development from the Trenches and his newest book due out spring of 2019, The Soul, Science and Culture of HOPE.

Rick’s research is revolutionizing the understanding of child and youth development and cultures. His work is modeled in 21 states and Canada and has been cited by the American Academy of Pediatrics in a book it published on youth resiliency.

In 2014 the Arizona Supreme Court adopted Kids at Hope to help redefine their juvenile justice system from risk to hope.

He has received Arizona State University’s Visionary Award; the City of Phoenix, Martin Luther King, Jr. Living the Dream Award; and the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge George Washington Medal.

Included in his many keynotes, workshops, seminars, and symposiums is a TED Talk.