Richard Riordan was born in Flushing, New York in 1930. He received a
bachelor's degree in philosophy from Princeton University in 1952, after which
he served in the Korean War as a U.S. Army field artillery officer. After
leaving the Army, Riordan attended the University of Michigan, where he earned a
law degree. He went on to become a successful attorney and businessman, forming
the law firm of Riordan & McKinzie during the early 1970s. In June of 1993,
Riordan was elected to succeed long-term Mayor Tom Bradley to become the 39th
mayor of Los Angeles. He assumed office on July 1, 1993.
On April 8, 1997, more than 60 percent of Los Angeles voters reelected
him to a second term that concluded on June 30, 2001. Riordan is married to
Nancy Daly Riordan and they have three daughters.
Believing that all children could learn, he said failure was not an option.
To prove it, in 1981 he created The Riordan Foundation with one goal in
mind: to teach children how to read and write.
Now, 20 years later, The Riordan Foundation has left an impressive legacy
of computer-based, early childhood literacy programs.
Through its signature, “Rx for Reading” program, The Riordan Foundation has
proudly distributed 20,000 computers to more than 2,000 schools in 40 states and
provided funds for 112,000 books purchased for elementary classroom libraries.
For children with limited access to books, Riordan created the
“Recreational Reading Mini-Grant Program.”
This program awards $1,000 grants to teachers to help them create a
library inside their classrooms. Children
are encouraged to take the books home and read them with their families. Since
1993, this program has donated $1.5 million in book grants serving more than
30,000 children in grades K-5.
Learn more about the Riordan Foundation here http://www.riordanfoundation.org/