Rick Ulfik is Founder and Director of We, The World, Co-Chair of
The Foundation For Ethics and Meaning,
Board Member of Communications Coordination Committee for the UN, and Co-Producer of Visual Voices TV Series
which was featured on the Dish Network and available in 15 million homes.
Rick organizes and promotes scores of events and other activities, large and small, every year.
Rick is also an accomplished composer and musician who has written, produced, arranged, conducted and performed music for ABC TV, NBC TV, CBS TV, the Olympics, radio, feature films, commercials, records, other media, and for major recording artists from Queen Latifah to Judy Collins.
Below is a detailed look at Rick's work in social change organizing
and music.
WORK IN SOCIAL CHANGE ORGANIZING
Rick Ulfik is the Founder and Director of We, The World, a non-profit
organization that develops global networks of collaboration and organizes
large public gatherings to build mass involvement in the work of creating
a peaceful, caring, sustainable world. Advisors and supporters include Nobel
Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dr. Jane Goodall, Daniel Ellsberg,
Dr. Riane Eisler, Robert Thurman, William Schulz (Amnesty International
USA Executive Director 1994-2006), Celeste Holm, Patch Adams, Hazel
Henderson, and about 70 others.
Rick is a principal organizer of 11 Days of Global Unity Sept. 11-21,
an annual convergence of more than 200 events in over 60 countries around
the world coordinated by We, The World as part of a strategy for building
mass public awareness and involvement in the vitally important work of peace
and sustainability.
Rick is also Co-Chair of The Foundation For Ethics and Meaning, a non-profit organization that is challenging
our prevailing cultural emphasis on material self-interest while encouraging
a spirit of caring and a process of mutual recognition that will nourish
inclusive, sustainable, just communities.
Rick also co-produces Visual Voices
a TV Series of The Foundation for Ethics and Meaning Co-Sponsored by
We, The World. Visual Voices presents voices in media, the arts and beyond
who are shaping our culture and our world. He has also written, produced and
directed two short films.
SOCIAL CHANGE ORGANIZING BACKGROUND
For many years Rick has had a strong interest in being involved with
groups that promote peaceful and fulfilling interactions. He was a co-leader
and coordinator of the 1993 United Nations event "Celebration For the
Children of The World" endorsed by Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
He was one of several principal organizers of Michael Lerner's historic
National Summit On Ethics And Meaning in Washington, D.C. in April
of 1996 which was attended by 1,800 people and included David Korten, Corinne
McLaughlin, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Marian Wright Edelman, Pete Seeger, Marianne
Williamson, Daniel Ellsberg, Cornel West and many others.
He also was an organizer for the 1998 United Nations Gandhi/King Season
For Nonviolence honoring the 50th and 30th memorial anniversaries of
Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. endorsed by the Dalai Lama
and Kofi Annan with participation by close to 2,000 people including Jesse
Jackson, Arun Gandhi, over 500 organizations, and events taking place in 115
cities.
As Co-Chair of the National Board of The Foundation for Ethics and Meaning,
he was one of three principal organizers of Re-Imagining Politics and
Society at the Millennium, a conference in May of 2000 which featured
Wei Jingsheng, Cornel West, Michael Lerner, David Korten, Naomi Klein,
Arianna Huffington, Mark Green, Patricia Ireland, Cora Weiss, Marianne
Williamson, and over 200 other speakers from around the world.
Rick is the principal organizer of We, The World's Videoconference
Series Building Peace and Security in the 21st Century started in 2003
which connects schools with the United Nations and featured speakers from
around the world. Interacting with inspiring speakers like Dr. Jane
Goodall and Congressman and Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich,
students and others are supported and encouraged to create a dream and vision
of peace, and then put their dream into action. The Videoconference Series
utilizes various media to disseminate information to students and the public
about the many important non-military programs and practices that are preventing
conflict, terrorism and oppression around the world.
WORK IN MUSIC
Rick is an award-winning composer, musician and sound design specialist
who is well known and respected for his work in television, film, and
many other media. During the last 30 years he has been a member of hundreds
of television, film, commercial and other media production teams.
Composer Credits (extremely brief listing here):
Underscoring Credits include: The Fire Unleashed (ABC-TV Prime
Time Special with Peter Jennings), Growing Old in America (ABC-TV Prime
Time Special with Hugh Downs), Dangerous World: The Kennedy Years (ABC),
Another World (NBC), Guiding Light (CBS), All My Children (ABC), The Olympics
(NBC), French Tennis Open (NBC), NCAA Basketball (ABC), The Peace Corps
(Harry Belafonte), Delta Airlines, VISA, Prudential Insurance, IBM, Estee
Lauder, and many others.
Songwriting Credits include: Firesign (RCA Release, Cory:
Artist): Rick was the writer of 5 of the album's tunes, including the
title track (which hit the Billboard and Record World Top 100 Charts).
Rick has done keyboard work, arranging, sound design and/or musical
direction with the following artists:
Queen Latifah, Phoebe Snow, Carlos Santana, Spike Lee's film production
"New Jersey Drive", Kurtis Blow, Noel Pointer, DJ Mark James The 45 King,
Samantha Sang, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Pete Seeger, Ester Satterfield, Judy Collins,
Bernadette Peters, Jane Olivor, Rupert Holmes, Maureen Mcgovern, Musique
"Keep On Jumpin'", Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, Jimmy Owens, Zvika Pick and
many others.
Award Recognition
Grammy Award nomination, Clio awards, and the Parents Choice, Kids First, and National Educational Media Network awards for excellence in musical educational materials.
Award Judging
Rick served for many years as a judge for the Emmy, Clio and NY Festivals
awards and the United Nations special UNESCO award for excellence and
social significance in documentary television.
PREVIOUS TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Prior to working in media, Rick was a math teacher, math tutor,
and music teacher in the New York City Public School System. More recently,
he has served as a High School Executive Internship Sponsor.
