Richard Black was born in Mt. Vernon, Ohio and attended schools and colleges in Grandview, Ohio; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Middletown, Connecticut and Medford, Massachusetts.
His career in university financial aid and enrollment management has taken him to Medford, Massachusetts; Waskington, D.C.; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Berkeley, California.
He married art teacher and potter Donna Arganbright , lives in Lafayette, California, and dedicates "Race to Radar" to his nine grandchildren.