SOMA People That You Meet — Katie Rickard

People That You Meet is a series of interviews conducted and posted by the Vanessa Pollock Team/Keller Williams, highlighting residents of the South Orange-Maplewood community and their diverse and interesting lives.

This installment is an interview with Katie Rickard, the Recruitment Coordination for CASA Essex.

Katie Rickard

What town do you live in?

Where did you live before that?

What brought you to SOMA?

We wanted a family-friendly town (we had a 3 month old at the time!) with an easy commute for Danny, who was working in NYC when we moved. I remember when we were house hunting, we sat down to watch a t-ball game in Maplecrest Park and we were sold – it was like a Norman Rockwell painting! Best decision we ever made.

What do you do (for a living or as a serious hobby)?

I work as the Recruitment Coordinator for CASA Essex County. The mission of CASA for Children of Essex County is to promote the welfare of children who have been removed from their homes because of abuse, neglect or abandonment. A CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) provides a safety net of support, advocacy and mentorship for these foster children. My role is to recruit people to become volunteers with this amazing non-profit organization. I began as an advocate volunteer myself and just recently joined their staff. My passion for the volunteer work really made this an easy segue back into the working world, after staying at home with my three kids for 7.5 years. Come see me in action on 8/16 at the S.O Library Volunteer info session!

What’s your favorite feature of your home?

I think the entry way of our house is pretty amazing. Our house isn’t a typical “Maplewood” house and we have a rather large front room with tons of windows and light.

What music/album are you really into these days?

I listen to a ton of different stuff – Top 40, Show Tunes, Folk Rock, pretty much all of (it except Heavy Metal and Phish). But my “go to” is currently either Hamilton or the Y2K Sirius Channel. Y2K brings me back to the early 2000’s which were some really great years.

What’s the best book you’ve read in the last 5 years?

Carry On Warrior by: Glennon Doyle Melton. This book just SPOKE to me! I was also lucky enough to go see Glennon speak last year and it was amazing.

Describe your family:

They’re basically all the best parts of me all walking around on Earth. Danny (the husband) is the essence of all things good and kind and funny and patient. Sean (the son) is my sweet, sensitive, caring and lovable 7 year old. My prayer is that he may always remain as compassionate as he is now. Lucy (the little middle aka the Unicorn) is my free spirited, dancing, artsy, introverted jewel of a girl. She balances this all with spontaneous, wild dance movies and a contagious laugh. Maggie (the small but mighty) is my mini-me – a little stubborn, a little bossy, a little sassy, and a lot of funny. Maggie makes me see the world in a better light and her favorite activity is a snuggle on the couch. Dream.

Describe your ideal day:

Sleeping in! I’m a night owl, so sleeping in is a dream. Then a lazy breakfast, followed by Maplewood Pool with the family. Probably an hour or so of alone time to catch up on the Real Housewives. Then pizza dinner with kids followed by Danny and I meeting up with friends somewhere.

Favorite local place to eat?

I was recently introduced to Fiamma in Millburn and had their goat cheese pizza. GOAT. CHEESE. PIZZA. I died and went to heaven.

What is your favorite store?

What can you not live without?

Coffee or tea?

What charity or organization are you most passionate about?

This circles back to my current profession! CASA Essex County is such an amazing organization. We advocate for educational, medical, emotional, and physical needs of foster children who, often times, do not have anyone who speaks for them. A CASA Volunteer is, what I call, a “pushy mom” for children who don’t have one. This is an organization I am incredibly proud to be a part of – the importance of making a difference in the life of a child can not be understated.