A Tribute to Rich Larson

The NAWRS community lost one of its strongest supporters last week with the passing of Richard Larson. An executive-level manager with Maryland’s human services agency before his retirement in 2010, Rich was deeply involved in that state’s welfare reform effort in the 1990’s and 2000’s. He partnered with Dr. Catherine Born at the University of Maryland School of Social Work to underwrite the “Life After Welfare” series and other reports on the progress of welfare reform in Maryland. Rich also had a knack for converting statistical data into simple and clear terms in order to effectively communicate the results and recommended actions to management colleagues, elected officials and other stakeholders.

In the spirit of celebrating Rich’s life, his abiding interest was the interrelationships among social welfare programs and ensuring that these programs work and work well together, so he was a natural fit for NAWRS. Those of you who met Rich at our Annual Workshops know that he served NAWRS in many ways, including twice serving as Program Co-chair in 2000 and 2006, serving as President in 2001, and NAWRS recognized his long serve to the organization with a lifetime achievement award in 2012. We will certainly miss him.

Read Rich’s Obituary