Rick has worked in the public sector as a city planner for over 30 years. He has helped transform communities into places where people choose to live, work and play, including in his work for Healdsburg, Calistoga, Livermore and Carmel-by-the-Sea. Rick retired from the City of Napa in 2019 where he had served for nearly a decade as Planning Manager and Community Development Director.

Rick’s experience is extensive leading diverse teams in the areas of Planning, Economic Development, Housing and Building. He managed preparation and implementation of general plans, master plans, specific plans, ordinances and design guideline, including their relationships to parks and recreation. While in Napa, he actively participated in the resurgence of the downtown managing development of many of its new and rehabilitated buildings, assisting in planning the Oxbow Preserve, and initiated planning efforts for rehabilitation of Dwight Murray Plaza and the Brown Street Pedestrian Corridor Plan.

Rick received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and attended graduate school at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo studying city and regional planning. He and his wife raised two sons in the Napa Valley where he has lived for 20 years, and they are now empty nesters.