Rich was a pillar of the disability service community for over 30 years. He supported countless individuals in obtaining real employment in their communities and educated hundreds of staff on how to best partner with consumers as allies in achieving their goals. A staunch advocate for person-centered planning (paving the way long before this became another buzzword) he spearheaded a leadership bootcamp for frontline managers overseeing the many programs that serve people with disabilities. When he came to WIL, he stated that while he enjoyed years of work in a director role and developing innovative programs, he was at a point in his career where he just wanted to connect directly with people, contributing in any way to improving lives, one person at a time. During his time at WIL, he not only worked directly with numerous consumers, but he recently took on our biggest partnership to date with Vocational Rehabilitation, the Albany County School District and young adults with disabilities. Rich spent his final hours meeting with students to offer our support working through the challenging time of adolescence and leaving high school.