Rich grew up in a family of farmers and ranchers in rural Nebraska.  He started his industry experience as a teenager working in his father's custom slaughter and processing plant learning first-hand both the skills and struggles of meat production, and the challenges of sustaining a family-owned operation.  After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps where he served proudly during Operations Desert Shield / Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf and then during Operation Restore Hope in Somalia.  Following his military service, he joined the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service in 1993 as a GS-5 kill floor inspector working in slaughter and processing facilities for beef, pork, and poultry all over the greater Los Angeles area.  His was responsible for the oversight of HACCP implementation, adherence to SSOP and labeling regulations, and assuring the humane handling of livestock for slaughter. His career advanced when he moved to Northern California where he served as an Enforcement Investigations and Analysis Officer, and Frontline Supervisor until 2008 when a promotion moved his family to Colorado.  Rich worked as an Investigator, and then Supervisory Investigator, within the Office of Investigation, Enforcement and Audit. During his tenure with OIEA he both conducted, and supervised, numerous surveillance activities, enforcement actions, recall actions, criminal investigations, and criminal prosecutions for the western region.

In 2015 he promoted to Deputy District Manager for the Denver District, managing the in-plant inspection activities conducted by a multi-disciplinary team. His team carried out regulatory inspection activities in approximately 300 meat, poultry, and egg, inspection establishments across 10 continental western states, Alaska, Hawaii, and the US territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the Mariana Islands.  During a temporary assignment to FSIS’ Office of Public Health and Science Rich worked closely with epidemiologists from USDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a complex Salmonella illness outbreak. Upon the successful conclusion of the investigation, and subsequent recall, he was recognized by the CDC with an honor award for his performance in leveraging a national salmonella outbreak investigation to improve poultry safety in the United States.

After working in Regulatory Enforcement for over 25 years with FSIS Rich retired in 2019 and, along with his wife Susan, established Praesidio Consulting to assist producers in the protein industry.   Rich has co-authored peer reviewed scientific articles, and has been published by the scientific journal, Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, regarding a salmonella foodborne illness investigation.   You can see the full article in the link below at the bottom of this page.

With his first-hand personal industry experience, his extensive technical expertise and mastery of food safety regulations gained during his tenure with the USDA, and his on-going regulatory advocacy with industry producers of all size and scope Rich consistently provides our clients with an unparalleled level of regulatory knowledge and expertise.