Rick Johnson Vice President Rick Johnson joined Lake Research Partners in 2004, where he designs, conducts and analyzes public opinion research for a variety of clients. Rick works with candidates at all levels of the political process and also leads research projects for unions and issue advocacy organizations. Clients include Gery Chico’s 2004 Senate campaign, AFL-CIO, Change To Win, The National Immigration Forum and numerous other clients. Prior to LRP, Rick worked for General Mills in Minneapolis, MN. He has also worked as an independent consultant providing distribution and competitive intelligence research to European confection companies, for Market Facts (now Synovate), creating new market research tools, managing their diary business and managing their joint ventures, and for the Gallup Organization. By appointment from Gov. Jesse Ventura, Rick served on the Minnesota Chicano/Latino Affairs Council. He also served on the Stillwater, MN Human Rights Commission, was a Board member of Casa de Esperanza, a national domestic violence organization, was elected to the Illinois District 65 School Board in 2001, and was awarded Amnesty International's 1989 Ralph J. Bunche Fellowship, working on the abolition of capital punishment, diversity, helping to end torture practices, and working with student groups. A native Chicagoan, Rick earned his B.A. in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he was recognized as one of the top 100 graduating students, and was the commencement speaker. He did his graduate work in public policy at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy, and did graduate work at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Rick currently serves on the Fairfax Virginia public school system’s Minority Student Achievement Oversight Committee.