Ken Rizer

Posted by Mike Tiernan

Join us Tuesday as we are joined by Ken Rizer. Ken proudly served 25 years as an Air Force commander & fighter pilot, and is currently the Senior Vice President of Operations for Goodwill of the Heartland.

Ken flew the RF-4C, F-16, & UH-1 through 15 assignments, including leading men and woman in combat during tours in Iraq. He commanded an F-16 figher squadron, an F-16 fighter group, and Andrews Air Force Base, the home of Air Force One. At Andrews, where he was responsible for 60,000 military personnel and their families around the world, he balanced a $252 million budget, opened DoD’s first combined charter school, ensured security for all senior U.S. and foreign officials, and procured a $30 million helicopter operations facility. His efforts resulted in Andrews being named the #1 Air Force-led Joint Base in the Department of Defense.

Ken was a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, earning a B.S. in Foreign Affairs. He was a Barry Goldwater Scholar to Georgetown University’s Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems, during which he served as a U.S. House of Representatives intern. Selected as an Olmsted Scholar, he learned Swedish at the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service Institute prior to studying International Security at the University of Stockholm, Sweden. He completed an M.S. with Highest Academic Distinction in Strategic Studies at Air University’s Air War College, as well as an MPA in Leadership, Politics, and National Security from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He is working on an MBA from the University of Iowa, with projected completion in the spring of 2014. Ken is a published author and speaker, Ironman triathlete, RAGBRAI rider, and occasional dog walker.