inspired by the legacy of GREG RICKS

Gregory Theodore Ricks was born into the care of Home for Little Wanderers in Boston. Throughout his life, Greg shared that he believed he won the lottery when he was adopted by Ted and Laura Ricks, of Brockton, Massachusetts. As a teenager, he attended the March on Washington in 1968 with his parents, an event that transformed his life. He attended college at Hampton University, then went on to earn master’s degrees in Urban Planning at MIT and Education at Harvard. With support from his own dear mentors, Greg became the youngest dean at Northeastern University at age 23. Greg championed the voices and power of youth to make a difference. He went on to serve as deans at Dartmouth College, Sarah Lawrence College, and Stanford University. In those roles, he often encouraged students to see their educations as opportunities to find their own passions and to then pursue them, especially in service of a greater good.

Greg became a driver of the growing service movement in cities and campuses across America. In 1993, he was instrumental in the founding of AmeriCorps, which provided federal and state funding and support for thousands of organizations in the U.S. At the request of President Bill Clinton, he facilitated its first Town Hall Meeting in Philadelphia and later trained hundreds of AmeriCorps members. Greg became the first dean at City Year, a demonstration program in Boston, helping to recruit and grow its staff and sites. He served on boards for Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL), Public Allies, and Youth Build USA.

Through City Year, Greg eventually pursued a lifelong dream to live in South Africa. He helped build the Clinton Democracy Fellowship, which supported young adult leaders who were working, often through founding or growing their own nonprofit programs, to rebuild their country and promote community development and equity. Late in his career, he worked at Stellenbosch University to transform its student body, staff, and faculty, and to build supports for the success of first generation students. In 2020, Greg passed away, leaving behind his wife Feriel, sister Wendy, daughters, Keija and Chayla, and son Ethan.