Freedom. Light. Success.
Quetzal Strategies believes in the strength, power, and potential of the non-profit organization.
Freedom. Light. Success.
Quetzal Strategies believes in the strength, power, and potential of the non-profit organization.
About Quetzal Strategies
Our Mission
Quetzal Strategies believes in the power, strength, and possibility of the non-profit organization. For more than a decade, we have helped launch new organizations, improve existing ones, and transform those with strong missions that are struggling operationally. With a keen focus on bold strategies, strong organizational structures, effective communications, and successfully fundraising strategies, we help non-profit organizations become the best they can be, while honoring their missions and achieving their goals.
Why Quetzal?
In Greek mythology, we know of the Phoenix, the immortal bird that regenerates no matter the challenge. in Mayan culture, the Phoenix’s equivalent is the Quetzalcoatl. The Quetzalcoatl is a feathered serpent deity that helped essentially contribute to the creation of mankind. As a ”creator god,” Quetzal is also a god of science. More importantly, it has been known for millennia as a symbol of freedom.
It is in that spirit that Quetzal Strategies was born. The company serves as a beacon for the non-profit space, helping create successful non-profit organizations while providing the freedom to succeed and have maximum impact on clients, communities, and the world at large.
As the father of two children of Mayan decent, Quetzal’s founder sees no greater calling than pursuing a mission of strengthening the non-profit sector.
Our Work
Quetzal Strategies' approach is proven effective, demonstrated again and again. Effective uses of multimedia. Teacher education. Healthcare reform. Literacy and learning. Violence intervention. Organizational turnaround. Quetzal has done it. Check out our Success Stories page to learn more about some of the initiatives of which we are most proud.
About Our Founder
Patrick R. Riccards, Founder
Patrick Riccards is the founder and visionary behind Quetzal Strategies and its many initiatives.
Pat is the founder and CEO of the Driving Force Institute for Public Engagement, a national effort transforming the teaching and learning of American history and civics through provocative, relevant video content for students and related professional development for teachers. DFI is committed to inspiring today’s learners need to “think like historians.” In less than four years, he built DFI into one of the nation's largest producers of American history education films, producing more than 500 films that now reach 60M users.
Pat also served as executive director and CEO of Life After Hate, transforming the organization into the nation’s leader in the violence intervention community. He previously served as a university vice president and as the chief communications and strategy officer at the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.
During his career, Pat has advised three presidential administrations and more than a half-dozen cabinet-level agencies on policy and public engagement. He has also worked for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and three U.S. Senators, as well as for the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Currently on the Board of Directors for the Center for the Collaborative Classroom and for Project Tomorrow and the advisory board for the Education Writers Association, Patrick was chairman of the school board in Falls Church City, Virginia. He is a member of the Forbes Nonprofit Council, writing regularly for them on nonprofit strategy and leadership.
An award-winning author, he writes and tweets under the handle Eduflack. He is the author of the nationally recognized and award-winning books Dadprovement, that chronicles his experiences building a family through adoption, and Dad in a Cheer Bow. Pat is also the editor and contributing author of Why Kids Can’t Read: Continuing to Challenge the Status Quo in Education and editor of the recently-released Why History Matters: American History Educators Speak Out. He is currently writing a new book, to be published by Forbes Books, on how non-profit organizations can successfully use strategic communications to grow and achieve their mission.
Patrick earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and completed the Non-Profit Leaders Executive Education Program at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education.
Patrick lives in Florence, SC with his wife, Jennifer, and children, Michael and Anna. From 2017 to 2021, he has volunteered his time as a coach for his daughter’s competitive cheer team, helping lead a squad of 19 tween girls to Nationals (and a top 10 finish) in December 2019 and runners up at 2019 YCADA Globals.
