Ricardo Adams has been an activist in Rochester for over 15 years.
He has a deep understanding of the intersections of the problems that communities are facing. Formerly incarcerated, he has experienced many of these problems firsthand. He has always been there for people in Rochester, and has a strong sense of justice.
Ricardo is married to Mary Adams, a nurse and fellow activist, and is the father of two daughters, who themselves organized student protests when Rochester City School District announced mid-year cuts in 2019.
Ricardo’s work in education began with a successful community-wide resistance to mayoral control and commitment to democratically elected, community controlled schools. He was a founding member of the Rochester Community Task Force on School Climate (CTF). Through his involvement with the CTF and while volunteering at Dr. Walter Cooper Academy School 10, Ricardo became a parent activist with AQE in 2014. When his wife stepped down from the school board, people in the community encouraged him to run for office. He won, and today is a member of the Rochester Board of Education. He continues to volunteer in RCSD Schools and elsewhere in the community.
Long before policing became a headline issue, Ricardo and Mary were researching police contracts with the Rochester City School District. Their early work and dedication helped spark the campaign that led us to a victory in June — more on that below.