Richard is an oil and gas professional with over 40 years of global experience in the energy industry. He has led business development and corporate initiatives in five countries, with an emphasis on Indigenous community engagement and impact. Richard is a designated Project Management Professional (PMP) and has his ICD.D designation. Richard is the president of Cascade Projects, an Indigenous-owned and controlled corporation that provides engineering, project management and Indigenous engagement services. Cascade works with innovative energy companies that aim to meaningfully partner with Indigenous communities across Canada.

Richard is an active Board Member for Apeetogosan Development Inc.; the Chairman of the Board for the Métis Entrepreneur Fund, a member of Circle for Aboriginal Relations and the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.

Richard is a proud member of the Alberta Métis community with a long history of family roots from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. His Métis and Indigenous ancestry includes Gabriel Dumont on his mother’s side and on his father’s side (Peechee) Louis Piche chief of the mountain Crees and guide to Sir George Simpson in the Banff area during the early 1800’s.