Richard D. Baum

Richard D. Baum is a graduate from Cate, Rick majored in history at Stanford and then served as a social worker in New York City. He joined the National Teacher Corps and taught middle school in upstate New York while earning a Master of Education. Later he earned a law degree from George Washington University, graduating magna cum laude.

Rick became a field attorney for the National Labor Relations Board, and, several years later, senior vice president of administration for Amfac, Inc., a Hawaii-based corporation with businesses ranging from agriculture to real estate. He returned to public service in 1991 when he was appointed chief deputy insurance commissioner for the state of California, a post in which he served as the Insurance Department’s chief operating officer.

He later served as CEO of Care West Insurance Company, until he was re-appointed chief deputy insurance commissioner in 2003. Currently, he serves as chairman of the board of directors of Redwood Trust, Inc., a publicly-traded real estate investment trust. Rick has been Cate’s Alumni Council president, president of the Board (1999-2004), and chairman of the Board (2010-2012). In 2005, Cate honored him with its Distinguished Alumnus Award.