Rick Pearson is the executive director of Project Understanding. He was appointed to that position in 1990. He first joined the staff of the agency in 1988. He is also an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church and holds a B.S. in Engineering from U.C.L.A. and the Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts degrees from Claremont School of Theology. He and his wife, Ellen, have two grown children – a son, Jonathan, and a daughter, Sonja.