MEET RICK
A Lifelong Advocate Committed to Community, Justice, and Bold Leadership for Ohio’s Future
Rick Neal has dedicated his life to lifting up communities and finding solutions to complex public problems. A father and activist, he is running for the Ohio Senate in the 15th District, which covers much of the City of Columbus, including Northland, Clintonville, Linden, Franklinton, Downtown, and Olde Town East; as well as Bexley and Whitehall.
Neal, who ran for Congress in 2018 in Ohio’s 15th district lives on the Near East Side of Columbus with his husband and two daughters.
Before getting married in 2007 and settling down to be a stay-at-home dad, he ran public health programs with refugees in Asia and Africa. In recent years he has joined with many others by using his organizing skills to help mobilize thousands of Central Ohioans to give voice to concerns over Trump Administration authoritarian policies.
MEET RICK
A Lifelong Advocate Committed to Community, Justice, and Bold Leadership for Ohio’s Future
Rick Neal has dedicated his life to lifting up communities and finding solutions to complex public problems. A father and activist he is running for the Ohio Senate 15th Senate District which includes much of the City of Columbus including Northland, Clintonville, Linden, Franklington Downtown, Old Town East and German Village; as well as Bexley, Gahanna, Grandview Heights, Groveport, Reynoldsburg, Whitehall.
Neal, who ran for Congress in 2018 in Ohio’s 15th district lives on the Near East Side of Columbus with his husband and two daughters.
Before getting married in 2007 and settling down to be a stay-at-home dad, he ran public health programs with refugees in Asia and Africa. In recent years he has joined with many others by using his organizing skills to help mobilize thousands of Central Ohioans to give voice to concerns over Trump Administration authoritarian policies.
A Legacy of Global Service and Lifesaving Humanitarian Leadership
Rick grew up in the suburbs of Milwaukee and Chicago and received his bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Miami University of Ohio. He joined the Peace Corps after graduation and served for five years in Morocco as a teacher and health educator. He earned a master’s degree in public health from the University of North Carolina and then went back overseas, fulfilling a commitment to serve where the need was greatest. He managed relief operations for refugees, displaced people, and returnees in Cambodia, Azerbaijan, Burundi, and the DR Congo; he launched a hospital reconstruction project in Afghanistan; and joined the humanitarian response in Jordan following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
A Champion for Human Rights at Home and Abroad
Rick pursued his interest in international relations with a second master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and brought his previous relief experience to bear as an advocate for better humanitarian assistance based in Washington DC. While there, Rick met his husband, Columbus native Tom Grote. Rick and Tom are leaders in the Columbus LGBTQ community and have been deeply involved in the fight for marriage equality and the protection of LGBTQ civil rights. In 2014, Rick returned briefly to Africa, where he was stationed for a month in the Liberian capital of Monrovia at the height of the Ebola epidemic, assisting in the construction of a 100-bed field hospital.
A Champion for Human Rights at Home and Abroad
Rick pursued his interest in international relations with a second master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and brought his previous relief experience to bear as an advocate for better humanitarian assistance based in Washington DC. While there, Rick met his husband, Columbus native Tom Grote. Rick and Tom are leaders in the Columbus LGBTQ community and have been deeply involved in the fight for marriage equality and the protection of LGBTQ civil rights. In 2014, Rick returned briefly to Africa, where he was stationed for a month in the Liberian capital of Monrovia at the height of the Ebola epidemic, assisting in the construction of a 100-bed field hospital.
A Proven Fighter for Working Families, Health Equity, and Democratic Values
Following the 2016 elections, Rick built on his involvement with the Ohio Democratic Party and numerous political campaigns to fight back against the policies of the new administration. That impulse led to his Congressional campaign focusing on better-paying jobs, an end to the opioid crisis, and affordable healthcare for everyone. He was an early supporter of Joe Biden and joined the campaign in 2020, working to activate and support coalitions of activists and community leaders across Ohio.
The 15th Ohio Senate district is an open seat as longtime Senator Hearcel Craig faces term limits.
A Proven Fighter for Working Families, Health Equity, and Democratic Values