EXPERT ON:
◉ Decision-Making & Emotional Intelligence
◉ Effective Communication
◉ Entrepreneurship & Innovation
◉ Goal Setting & Achievement
◉ Inspirational Life Story
◉ Leadership Development
◉ Motivation & Mindset
◉ Overcoming Adversity
◉ Team Building & Collaboration
◉ Work-Life Balance & Focus
EXPERIENCE:
◉ Founder of the Driving Force Institute for Public Engagement, a national organization transforming American history and civics education; producer of 750+ short films reaching more than 65 million users nationwide.
◉ Senior policy and public engagement advisor, with experience advising three U.S. presidential administrations, multiple cabinet-level agencies, members of the U.S. Congress, and the Senate Appropriations Committee.
◉ Award-winning author, editor, and national speaker, known as Eduflack; author of Dadprovement and Dad in a Cheer Bow, editor of Why Kids Can’t Read, and author of Why History Matters, with work featured in major outlets including USA Today, The Washington Post, and The New York Times; holds degrees from the University of Virginia, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and the USC Rossier School of Education.
Dr. Patrick Riccards is the founder of the Driving Force Institute for Public Engagement, a national effort transforming the teaching and learning of American history and civics through provocative, relevant video content for students and related professional development for teachers. One of the nation’s largest producers of American history education film content, DFI has produced more than 750 short films, currently reaching 65M users.
During his career, Patrick has advised three presidential administrations and more than a half-dozen cabinet-level agencies on policy and public engagement. He has also worked for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and three U.S. Senators, as well as for the Senate Appropriations Committee.
An award-winning author, he writes and tweets under the handle Eduflack. He is the author of the nationally recognized books, Dadprovement, which chronicles his experiences building a family through adoption, and Dad in a Cheer Bow. A memoir of his four years coaching his daughter’s competition cheerleading team that has recently been turned into a full-length feature film.
Patrick is also the editor and contributing author of Why Kids Can’t Read: Continuing to Challenge the Status Quo in Education. His most recent book, Why History Matters: American History Educators Speak Out, is a collection of essays from many of the nation’s top k-12 teachers about the importance of history education.
Patrick regularly speaks on the intersections of policy, research, and engagement and is the author or ghost author of work that has appeared in hundreds of publications, including USA Today, Washington Post, New York Times, New York Post, and Education Week.
Patrick earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and completed the Non-Profit Leaders Executive Education Program at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He earned a doctorate in organizational change and leadership from the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education.
Patrick lives in Worcester, MA with his wife, Jennifer, and children, Michael and Anna. From 2017 to 2021, he volunteered his time as a coach for his daughter’s competitive cheer team, helping lead a squad of 19 teen girls to Nationals (and a top 10 finish) in December 2019 and runners up at 2019 YCADA Globals.
