Rich Alpert was born in upstate New York, graduated from Hobart College and received a Ph.D. from Harvard in Political Science. When Hampshire College was created in 1970, Rich came to Amherst and was soon the Associate Dean of Faculty and Dean of Strategic Planning. After working at Hampshire, Alpert worked with an educational testing company. From there, he spent over a quarter of a century as the owner, and operator of Diversity Resources, a publishing company to create and distribute multicultural and diversity educational training materials.

In addition to his work, Richard Alpert is a twice-published author. His first book, a memoir, is “Living Life Backwards”. He looks back at his life, from exploring what it meant to be the only Jewish family in the town where he grew up to sharing his familial experiences with mental illness, Alpert takes readers through a life that eventually is full of resilience, joy, and happiness. His second book “The Family Tice: Luck, Choice, and Courage” is a compelling narrative of Jewish courage and survival.

At 81, Alpert is still writing – he is working on a piece about the development of Hampshire College. He is the current President of Sinai Temple and loves to play tennis – something he has taken up since meeting Ronnie.

Alpert cites relationships and camaraderie in helping him publish his books and finding friends with which to share his experiences. Since 1975, he has been a member of a men’s group in Amherst-Northampton. He has also joined writing workshops in Northampton and at the Springfield JCC. In these spaces, what began as small stories and anecdotes found their way into books, at first for his family, but then for a wider audience.

“We met online in 2011," said Rich. "A year later I had to have a knee replaced and she volunteered to take care of me (she is a physical therapist) - and I never left!” “I love the community of Longmeadow - it’s a community where it’s very easy to make friends and to develop relationships. Ronnie had such an array of friendships that immediately introduced me to some of my own, great friendships”

It seems Ronnie and Rich are here to stay!