About Exemplar's Founder

Exemplar Strategic Communications was founded by Patrick Riccards, building on his 15-year career building and executing integrated communications initiatives and advocacy campaigns for companies, government agencies, and not-for-profit organizations focused on the education industry. 

Patrick has led national and statewide advocacy and public education efforts for organizations such as the National Governors Association, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Education, the National Institute for Literacy, and the National Skill Standards Board/U.S. Department of Labor, among others.  Focused on changing both public policy and public behavior, these efforts have had a demonstrable impact on communities across the nation.

As CEO and Chief Strategist for Exemplar Strategic Communications, Patrick leads efforts to partner with organizations to develop proven-effective strategic planning, public affairs, and advocacy communications solutions.  Previously, Patrick held positions as Senior Vice President and Practice Director for Lipman Hearne, Vice President and Practice Director for Widmeyer Communications, and Vice President for a global education company.

Patrick has also served as Executive Director of the Coalition to Protect Community Not-for-Profit Hospitals, a membership-based 501(c)(3) focused on boosting public interest and policy support for community-based healthcare in the Washington, DC area.  As director, he led exponential growth of an organization that had a lasting impact on the future of healthcare delivery in DC and Virginia.  He currently serves as a board member of the Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia, an advisory board directing hospital and healthcare planning decisionmaking in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Patrick's advocacy and integrated communications campaigns have been honored by the International Association of Business Communicators, Public Relations Society of America, and Philips Business Information.  Patrick has personally be recognized as one of the top professionals in the field by PR Week and PR News magazines.  He is currently the author of the education reform blog, Eduflack, which can be read at http://blog.eduflack.com.

He began his career on Capitol Hill, serving in a range of senior communications positions for U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd (WV), U.S. Senator Bill Bradley (NJ), and U.S. Representative John W. Olver (MA).

Patrick recently founded Educommunicators (www.educommunicators.com), an online social networking experiment for marketing communications professionals in the education field.