2010 LLS Man of the Year Candidate
Born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and one of five proud sons of Peruvian immigrants, Ricardo always strives to live the fullest life possible while empowering and inspiring those he meets along the way. Struggling early in life when stricken with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Ricardo turned to running, basketball, and soccer as his saving graces. After becoming an Eagle Scout and graduating from high school in Tulsa, he went on to undergraduate studies at Washington University in St. Louis and studied abroad in Spain and France. After saving money working back home in Tulsa, he moved to Washington, DC, in 1996 and has ever since been an active member in the community. In DC, he has worked in the international finance arena at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, while pursuing his passion for deejaying. He co-founded Latino-focused Radiofutura.com, Inc. (a pioneering internet-radio company in the late 90s), founded Nuvo Music and the Eden Experience (collectives of local and national artists and musicians), served as consultant to both the Winter Music Conference in Miami Beach and the National Music Center in DC, created and supervised the curriculum for the DJ Lab (a DJ school in downtown DC), co-organized various local creative events such as Pecha Kucha and X, and served as MC at the Adams Morgan Day Festival. His most recent achievement was in Florida as a staff member of President Obama’s campaign. His present-day, ongoing endeavors include filmmaking (currently as Executive Producer for Wayfinder Films’ and Stephen King’s “Flowers for Norma”), an online travel company Vida Vacations, and a social entrepreneurial project called CHEF (Creating Hope and Empowerment through Food), whose aim is to bring together local non-profits to train formerly incarcerated individuals in building and running their own restaurants here in our nation’s capital.
