Shared Effort

Bill Richardson '73

Bill Richardson graduated from Princeton in 1973 with a politics degree.  He also holds a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.  After 30 years as an associate and then partner at the law firm of Wilmer Cutler & Pickering and its successor Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, LLP, he retired at the end of 2007.  He is currently doing pro bono legal work as a volunteer for Virginia C.U.R.E., the Legal Aid Justice Center, and other organizations interested in prison reform in Virginia, and serves on the board of the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust.   He is a past Chairman of the Alumni Schools Committee for Northern Virginia, currently serves as Secretary of the Princeton Club of Washington, and is a member of Project 55’s Midcareer Planning Committee.   Bill and his wife Kathy, Northwestern ‘73, live in Arlington, Virginia.  They have two sons.  Jack, age 30, runs a tree care company in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  James, age 26, plays lead guitar for the rock band MGMT.

How did you get involved with Princeton Project 55? Did it surprise you to learn that PP55 is a multigenerational organization?

I had had the great opportunity of working closely with Bill Leahy ’66 on Alumni Schools Committee work for a number of years, and talked with him about getting involved in Project 55 around the time of my retirement.  At the same time, one of my classmates in the area, Dick Walker ’73, was getting more actively involved.  I had been inspired by what I had read about the origin of Project 55 as a contribution to public service after a career in the private sector.  I was unaware of the extensive participation in Project 55 by those other than the founding generation, and also of the popularity of its programs among recent Princeton graduates.

What’s the most important thing you look for when supporting an organization or serving on a nonprofit board?

To me, the key is whether the mission of the organization is to provide a service to the community in ways that are not filled by others, and whether that particular mission is one in which I have a personal interest.

Please discuss the importance of what Project 55 does for the Princeton community and communities across the country.

Project 55 provides to alumni of all generations an opportunity to use their experience to make a difference in important areas where nonprofit organizations have become critical, particularly with diminishing government resources.  This is a wonderful way to make connections with fellow alumni, but also a particular opportunity for those of us who have spent most of our lives in the private sector to play a bigger role in addressing these needs.

PP55 is excited to be working with you and other alumni on a new initiative for alumni considering transitions to the nonprofit sector. Since you have made this change, could you discuss your transition from the private sector to the nonprofit sector?

My transition has been somewhat haphazard.  What I’m doing now is partly an outgrowth of contacts that I made while engaged in a pro bono project at my law firm, when I met others in need of similar legal advice, and partly the result of having had the opportunity since retirement to devote more time to civic activities here in Arlington. I’m still exploring what I want out of a “second career,” including whether it should involve government service or work in the nonprofit sector.

What advice would you give to alumni that are either transitioning or are considering changing careers?

I think the most important thing is to keep an open mind and reach out to others to find out what’s available.  There are lots of opportunities out there, and for most of us the difficulty is in learning about  them.  Getting more involved in pro bono work, bar associations or analogous professional associations, and civic activities in your community are helpful ways of finding out about some of these options, but I’m most excited about how Project 55 might be of service to older alumni in helping them in this way.

As we celebrate our 20th Anniversary, what is your hope for the next 20 years at PP55?

I hope that we will be able to inspire succeeding generations to make the kinds of commitments to public service that the class of 1955 started with, and also to expand our focus beyond the very successful programs for recent graduates by providing similar opportunities for older alumni as well, both full-time and part-time.