In addition to her business management and client liaison responsibilities for the Federal sector, Dr. Rikard serves as SkillsNET's Chief Learning Officer. A veteran educator, Dr. Rikard’s professional philosophy is centered upon a belief that a challenging, enriching education should be readily available to all learners in order to promote lifelong learning. Prior to joining SkillsNET, Dr. Rikard assisted the Naval Personnel Development Command as Assessment Program Manager, during which she researched and began implementation of command wide performance metrics. During her public education service, Dr. Rikard served as Assistant Principal for Instruction for Indian River High Schools, one of the Chesapeake Public Schools. In that position, Dr. Rikard was primarily responsible for coordination and analysis of Virginia Standards of Learning Assessments (SOL) and assimilation, monitoring, and adaptation of the instructional schedule for secondary courses. She received her M.A. in Urban Education from Norfolk State University, and her Ph.D. from Old Dominion University in Virginia.