Rick grew up in Alameda County aspiring to become a kung fu folk hero like Wong Fei-hung. Never quite able to give up on that childhood dream, Rick's career path took odd turns, going from bioreactors, to space biology, to internal communications. 10 years later, he finally concluded that no conventional job really addresses our systemic social and economic issues. Fed up, Rick’s path has now gone fully off-road into civic advocacy. How can California have the 4th largest GDP per capita in the world, yet a third of Californians live in or near poverty? Our people and communities should be thriving, not merely surviving. After all this time searching, Rick feels that he has finally found his home in the Forward movement, and is honored and fired up to be a part of the Forward California team. Let’s get this party started!