Richard R. Ramos has overcome the obstacles of barrio youth gangs, drugs and violence, to devote his career to serving high-risk Latino youth & families. He is the Executive Director of the Latino Coalition for Community Leadership, a national nonprofit whose purpose is to find, fund, form, and feature nonprofits in marginalized communities meeting the needs of individuals and families. He is also founder of “Parents on a Mission” a parent leadership program adopted by school districts, nonprofits, various Departments of Corrections and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of their strategy for violence prevention in Guatemala.

Ramos has served as a Juvenile Hall instructor, at-risk counselor; a co-founding director of a gang intervention community coalition; director of a youth teen center and a founding director of the Interfaith Initiative of Santa Barbara County. He has received numerous awards including recognition by the White House, U.S. Congress, and California State Assembly. He has been inducted into the Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapels Board.

Ramos has authored three books: “Got Gangs?”, “Gang Prevention and Schools,” and “From The Margins To The Mainstream – Preparing Latino Youth For Leadership In The 21st Century.”