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Richard Leon “Rick” HollandWhat Rick knows and cares about most is land; if ever a person were meant to be an independent farmer, it is him. And in Costa Rica that dream is still possible. (Rolbein, Seth. Nobel Costa Rica. 1989, St. Martin's Press. pg. 122)The past 25 years Rick has been building two companies in Costa Rica, and the past decade he has expanded his professional activities in Northern California. Rick is a native of California, born in Los Angeles County in 1961. After spending most of his first eleven years in Southern California, Rick’s family moved to Costa Rica, where he was a resident until 1992. After attending a bi-lingual high school, Rick attended colleges in Costa Rica and Southern California, obtaining degrees in Social Science and Agricultural Business. After teaching as a bi-lingual teacher in the Pomona Unified School District, Rick returned to Costa Rica in 1985 to manage a 175 acre farm. Since 1987 he has been President & CEO of an agricultural enterprise and real estate brokerage. In 1988 Rick got involved with the burgeoning tourism industry in Costa Rica after then President Oscar Arias won the Nobel Peace Prize. The same year he was instrumental in the restructuring of the Institute for Central American Studies (ICAS) and served as interpreter for the International Human Rights Tour. In 1989 Rick was hired by the WorldTeach Program based at Harvard University to work with the Arias Administration to establish WorldTeach Costa Rica. It was through WorldTeach that Rick met his wife, Gisele “Gigi” Norris, from Northern California. In 1991 while Gigi was directing WorldTeach, Rick went on to become Director of the Department of Responsible Tourism and the Director of the Audubon Society of Costa Rica. In these capacities he was responsible for promoting the Code of Ethics for Sustainable Tourism and helping to establish a national Sustainable Tourism Rating. In 1992 Rick sat on the National Ecotourism Commission, was a featured speaker at the World Congress for Ecotourism, and was the environmental representative on the Tárcoles Watershed Commission—Costa Rica’s primary watershed. In 1993 Rick joined Gigi at Columbia University, where she was pursuing dual Masters Degrees in Public Administration and Public Health. Rick began working in January 1994 as the Grants Manager for the YMCA of San Francisco, where he secured funding and became AmeriCorps Director for two programs—the national YMCA Earth Service Corps and California YMCA PRYDE. Rick and Gigi moved to Santa Cruz in 1995, where he established the office for the Colibri Adventures International Adventure Based Learning Program and began training international groups at International Health Programs/Public Health Institute. In addition to her work in the health field, Gigi obtained her Doctorate in Public Health from U.C. Berkeley. While in Santa Cruz, Rick conducted leadership and management training for health personnel, public officials and community leaders from around the world—traveling to Belize, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua. Rick also has traveled for pleasure throughout South America, parts of Europe, Indonesia, Tahiti and other Pacific Islands. Deciding in 2002 to curtail his time on the road, Rick obtained his real estate license and began working with both residential customers and investors, in addition to managing his own assets. After the birth of their son, Griffin Gabriel, in 2004, Rick and Gigi decided to relocate nearer to family living in Marin County. Rick sold their home in the Santa Cruz Mountains and purchased a new home on the San Anselmo/Fairfax border - adjoining open space. In 2006 a daughter, Julia Colette, became the newest member of the household. Raising a family and taking leadership roles in Scouting and environmental activism - in addition to real estate and adventure education - keep Rick actively involved with his communities in California and Costa Rica. Besides serving on the boards of his own companies, Rick has served on the boards of the Audubon Society of Costa Rica, IDEA, YMCA of the Redwoods/Camp Campbell, and St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Rick is a member of the American Quarter Horse Association, Arabian Horse Association, Boy Scouts of America, California Association of REALTORS, Episcopal Church, Friends of the River, Marin Association of REALTORS, Marin Horse Council, Mt. Tam Racquet Club, National Association of REALTORS, PADI Diving Society, The Nature Conservancy, United States Tennis Association, and AARP.
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