Dr. Martha Farnsworth Riche’s current interests include the organizational impact of workplace diversity, the pivotal role of women in economic development, and changes in the global labor force. In particular, she works with organizations that perceive a business benefit from activities that leverage employee contributions, whether improving health, advancing education, or building interpersonal skills.

 

The Honorable Martha Farnsworth Riche was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 6, 1994, as Director of the U.S. Bureau of the Census. With a focus on adapting census-taking processes to a changing population, Dr. Riche established partnerships with thousands of community organizations for the 2000 census. This innovation was repeated in the 2010 census and once again was extremely successful in increasing grass-roots participation (and sending budgeted funds back to the Treasury). Like ACCESS Partnerships, this success was built on starting from the point of view of the partners; her mantra for the program was, “We want to do this WITH you, not for you or to you.”

 

Dr. Riche holds a B.A. and an M.A. (with honors) in economics from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in literature and linguistics from Georgetown University. She is a Visiting Scholar at the School of Public and International Affairs, University of Georgia.