A native of Houston, Texas, and a graduate of Texas A&M University in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Michael Richker is not your typical “Aggie”.
After graduation, Michael relocated to Chicago and began a career in the manufacturing and importing of gift items made in the Orient. Chicago was his home for more than 35 years, and his two children were born there, and still live there. But like so many of us, all it took was one visit to Sarasota to convince him that this needed to be his home once he retired, and it is decision he has never regreted.
Over the last 20 years, Michael has enriched the life of our Suncoast community as a volunteer in a plethora of ways. He has helped grow Temple Emanu-El as a trustee, a commitee chairman, Vice-President, and finally as President. He served Jewish Family and Children’s Services as a trustee and held a similar role at the Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness. Currently, besides serving as our CEO here at GRASP, he is a board member at the Aviva Senior Living Center. But above all else, his singular passion remains his dedication to the issues that confront those recovering from a range of addictions.
We are honored to have Michael as our CEO.