About the Author

Richard grew up in White Plains, NY and attended public school. He started playing Little League baseball at age 7. At White Plains HS he was the quarterback of the football team, a starting forward in basketball, set NY State records in the 400 meter hurdles and 880 relay, and was Captain of all three teams. He was also a 2 handicap golfer and an American Legion pitcher. 

At Cornell he played football for 2 years, ran track, set the Cornell 4x100 relay record, placed 4th in the IC4A 400 meter hurdles, and captained a combined Cornell/University of Pennsylvania team that competed against Oxford and Cambridge in England

An avid sportsman, he was also a scholar. In high school he received a National Merit Scholarship Commendation, and then earned an Engineering degree from Cornell and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

He started his career in the computer industry with IBM and was a consultant with Coopers & Lybrand. He has over 30 years of entrepreneurial experience, including starting his own high technology company. 

He learned his grammar in 4th and 5th grade at George Washington Elementary School in White Plains. He also learned it at home, because he heard proper grammar at home and was always corrected when he made a mistake. 

He developed Speak For Success to help students and adults speak better because:

   · People judge you on how you speak.

   · Poor grammar reduces your earning power and limits better job opportunities.

   · Speaking well will benefit you for the rest of your life.