Mike Ritz

After more than 12 years serving as the Executive Director of Leadership Rhode Island (LRI), Mike shifted to a national focus in July 2022. Taking on the position of Executive Director in Gallup’s public sector partner group, he leads a newly launched strengths-based development initiative for the federal government to make our nation stronger. Under Mike's leadership, LRI received numerous accolades, including the Excellence in Public Service Award by Common Cause RI, two National Innovation Awards from the Association of Leadership Programs and three Community Outreach Awards from the RI Press Association for public forums in partnership with The Providence Journal and Rhode Island College. LRI’s innovative Make RI Stronger social enterprise, launched in 2014, was recognized by Gallup as an inspiration for the global Strengths movement. Mike also secured the largest single donation in LRI's 41-year history. And in 2020, launched the National Leadership Network representing 700,000+ community leadership program alumni across the country. Prior to LRI, Mike served as a Tri-lingual interrogator in the U.S. Army, established his first company by the age of 25, motivated people to excel at his fitness Boot Camps, and served as a Regional Manager for an international healthcare company based in the United Arab Emirates. A former on-call interrogation analyst for CNN, Mike has been interviewed hundreds of times for TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines. He participated in nine documentaries in 15 years; "Songs of War" won an International Emmy.