Born in Montreal, Quebec, and raised in the Ottawa Valley, Richard has lived his entire adult life in Kingston, Ontario.  He moved to Kingston to study mechanical engineering at Queen's University, Kingston in 1985 and has called Kingston home ever since.  After leaving Queen's he went on to complete a three year diploma in Fashion Design at St. Lawrence College, where he graduated with distinction and as Valedictorian.  He has an extensive list of domestic and international publications on leadership, ethics, organizational renewal, and strategic studies.

He has been an officer with the Canadian Naval Reserve since 1985 where he received training and practical experience in public relations, leadership, finance and budget tracking.  He served as Executive Officer (second-in-command) of HMCS Cataraqui, Kingston's Naval Reserve Unit, from 1999 until 2001, following which he was promoted to his present rank of Lieutenant Commander.  In January 2010 Richard returned from a six month deployment in Afghanistan where he was a Liaison Officer and Mentor to the Afghan National Army Headquarters in Kabul.  He currently works as the Change Management Officer at the Canadian Defence Academy.

Richard's service is not limited to the Naval Reserve. He chaired the Kingston Community Memorial Center Advisory Committee for three years; was a member of the Kingston Young Entrepreneur Group, Political Action Committee; the Canadian Consortium on Asian Pacific Security, Maritime Security Working Group; and, up until his departure to Afghanistan, served on the FOCUS Kingston committee.  He currently serves as the Treasurer of the Pittsburgh Community Benefit Fund; Secretary of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Association of Kingston and the Islands; and on the Executive of the Canadian Conservative Association of Kingston and the Islands.