Richard is a proud product of West Vancouver's public schools who believes every student deserves the world-class education West Vancouver Schools offers. Raised in West Vancouver he Irwin Park Elementary and West Vancouver Secondary, completing the IB Programme before earning his BA in Communications and an MBA from Simon Fraser University.

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Richard has a long record of governance and volunteer leadership on the North Shore. He is a Director of Triathlon Canada, Vice President of the Board of the North Shore Lifeboat Society and a crew member with the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue. He also served as a Director of the West Vancouver Foundation, chairing the Scholarship Committee. He has also sat on the District of West Vancouver's Community Grants Committee, served as volunteer Race Director of the Rotary SeaWalk Run, is an Honorary Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Club of West Vancouver and mentors business students at SFU's Beedie School of Business.

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Richard believes today's students succeed because of the vision and dedication of the educators and boards that came before. His priorities are to build on that foundation in three ways.

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• Academic excellence. He wants to attract and retain the best educators and to keep literacy and numeracy rates the strongest in the country.

• Pathways for every kind of success. Students should have options in academics, trades, athletics, the arts and entrepreneurship. He supports continued funding for student support services above provincial levels.

• Future-ready citizens. Students should be prepared for careers, a global world and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, with technology integrated thoughtfully and ethically in the classroom.

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Three years ago, Richard returned home with his wife Francesca, and together they run a small business in the community. They are raising two young boys who will soon begin their own journey through West Vancouver's public schools. When he has free time, he trains for triathlons or climbs one of the North Shore's more than eighty backcountry peaks.

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Richard is committed to bringing fresh energy to the board and carrying forward the foundation that West Vancouver's schools have built for generations of students in West Vancouver, Lions Bay and Bowen Island.

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Ways I will advocate for young British Columbians:

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• I believe we need to create more pathways for our students. Post-secondary education is important however, not all students will go down the same path and I want to create as many paths for students to explore so they can find their spark and passion.

• Our students are growing up in a rapidly evolving world. In the mid 90s we got the internet, 20 years later we saw the advent of social media, and 20 years later we are living through the disruptive advent of AI. We do not know what challenges our youth will face but it is important that leadership in education remains open minded, grounded, and makes decision that prepare youth to take advantage of whatever opportunities they face in the future.

• The role of a school trustee is inherently advocating for youth and young people in the province.I think it's important to ensure we continue to prioritize student success and academic performance so that our young people are prepared for a life after school whether their careers start close to home or far away.