Ricardo Ramirez was born and raised in Guánica, Puerto Rico. In 2006, he moved to Texas where he began volunteering for the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Annual Gala Dinner. In 2013, he became a member of the HRC Steering Committee as their Diversity and Inclusion Co-Chair. In 2016, he moved to San Diego, California and immediately reached out to the San Diego HRC Steering Committee and joined them as their Community Engagement Co-Chair. Moving back to San Antonio in 2018, due to work, he joined his first HRC Steering Committee assisting with community engagement, political action, and corporate sponsorship.
Ricardo has attended several HRC Equality Conventions over the years. He has participated in different programs as part of his leadership growth, including the 2018 HRC Men and Leadership Retreat, the 2020 Equality 2.0 Retreat and now he is part of the 2023 Alexander Briseño Leadership Development Program hosted by the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
In 2019, Ricardo joined the HRC National Board of Governors and was part of the Executive Committee in 2021 as the national liaison for political action and community engagement.
As a result of his dedicated work with HRC over the last several years, Ricardo has been recognized with the Exemplary Leadership in Heart Award (2021, 2022), the More than Heart Award (2022), the HRsi Founding Member Award (2023), and the Intersectional Action Award (2023).
Ricardo has a bachelor’s degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the University of Puerto Rico. With 25 years in the hospitality industry, he works as a Senior Sales Executive for Marriott International and is an active member of the company’s LGBTQ+ / ONE Associate Resource Group.
Ricardo enjoys spending time with his husband, Derek, and their fur baby, Phoebe, creating memories. They love traveling around the nation and overseas.
