Gerald Richards is the co-founder and director at B & G LLP, a new consultancy helping individuals and organisations be more confident, creative, and tell a better story about what they do. Through seminars, coaching, and bespoke training programs B & G works to make sure organisations are putting their best for forward. He is also the CEO for the Superpower Agency, a youth literacy and academic enrichment organization located in Edinburgh, Scotland. Gerald is the former chief executive officer of 826 National, where he led the strategic direction, administration and building of resources for the network of affiliate organizations located in seven cities nationwide, as well the establishment of affiliates in additional US cities. With more than twenty years of management and development experience at local and national nonprofit organizations, Gerald is a respected trainer and sought after speaker on topics of youth development, writing, creativity, and education access. He has been interviewed regularly on these topics and appeared on CBS The Morning, NBC Nightly News, CNN's Anderson Cooper's 360, and The Michael Eric Dyson Show, and has had articles published in the Huffington Post and GOOD Online. He has also served as an education expert for national marketing campaigns promoting creativity in and outside the classroom. Gerald has conducted trainings and presented at conferences including Institute of Fundraising - Scotland, SXSWedu, TEDX: Constitution Drive, TEDX: Cheltenham, Opportunity Collaboration, Higher Order Thinking Schools, American Education Research Association and Feria Internacional del Libro Infantil y Juvenile in Mexico City. He has represented 826 National at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) America, the PSFK Conference, the Big Ideas Fest, the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His nonprofit career includes executive positions at the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and UNCF; as well as managerial positions at the University of California, San Francisco; the J. David Gladstone Institutes; Chicago Panel on Social Policy; and The Cradle Foundation. He has managed flourishing relationships and partnerships with corporate, foundation, education and governmental entities including Cole Haan, AT&T, Cartoon Network, Time Warner Cable, Citi, Merrill Lynch/Bank of America, the Lyles Center for Entrepreneurship at Fresno State, and the San Francisco Mayor's Office. Gerald was awarded the 2016 News Corp Community Hero Award and was a fellow in the Pahara-Aspen Institute Education Fellowship. He has leadership certificates from the Executive Education programs of Harvard Business School, Babson College and the University of the Pacific as well as Rockwood Leadership Institute. He currently serves on the boards of the Academy of American Poets, and the Edinburgh City of Literature. He has also served on the boards of Newbury College, Thousand Currents, and My Path SF. Originally from Harlem, NYC, Gerald has a BA in film studies from Wesleyan University and an MFA in writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.