Richard R. Buery, Jr.

Richard R. Buery Jr. is a social entrepreneur, urbanist, and public servant focused on expanding opportunity for underserved communities. A first-generation Panamanian American, Buery has dedicated his career to advancing equal opportunities for families and communities often left behind. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School at 16, earned a degree in Afro-American Studies from Harvard, and received a law degree from Yale.

Buery began his leadership journey as an undergraduate, founding a summer enrichment program in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and teaching fifth grade at an orphanage in Zimbabwe. Early in his career, he served as a law clerk on the Federal Court of Appeals in New York and as a staff attorney at the Brennan Center for Justice, focusing on campaign finance reform and economic justice.

Buery’s nonprofit leadership includes co-founding iMentor, a national college access program supporting low-income, first-generation high school students, and Groundwork, which advances the educational aspirations of public housing residents in Brooklyn. He became the first African American and youngest CEO of Children’s Aid Society, one of the nation’s oldest and largest youth-serving organizations, where he also founded Children’s Aid College Prep Charter School in the South Bronx. Buery later served as chief of policy and public affairs for the KIPP Foundation and as CEO of Achievement First, a network of 37 public charter schools serving 15,000 students across New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

In city government, Buery served as deputy mayor for strategic policy initiatives under Mayor Bill de Blasio. He was the architect of Pre-K for All, New York City’s initiative to provide free, full-day, high-quality pre-kindergarten to every four-year-old, increasing enrollment by 50,000 children. He also launched School’s Out NYC, a free after-school program for middle schoolers; ThriveNYC, a mental health initiative; and NYC Community Schools, aimed at improving school attendance. Buery managed agencies including the Departments of Probation, Aging, Youth and Community Development, and Immigrant Affairs, and founded the New York City Children’s Cabinet and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Buery became CEO of Robin Hood, a leading anti-poverty organization, which has invested billions in New York City’s low-income families and serves as a national model. He has been appointed to co-chair the New New York panel, examining the future of New York City and the region’s economy, and has chaired the New York City Charter Revision Commission. Buery has also served on the State’s Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council and Emerging Technology Advisory Board.

Buery has been recognized on Ebony’s list of "30 Under 30" and Crain’s "40 Under 40," and has received the United Negro College Fund humanitarianism award and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network and the Council on Foreign Relations. Buery has taught courses in social entrepreneurship, leadership, and New York City affairs at Yale Law School, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, New York Law School, and Baruch School of Public Affairs, and serves as a Public Service Fellow at the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. His personal story, from the housing projects of East New York to civic leadership, informs his work on poverty, inequality, education, and public service.