Rick Glazier joined the DRNC board in December 2022. He is the former Executive Director of the NC Justice Center. Previously, he had been elected seven times to the North Carolina House of Representatives from Cumberland County. Rick received his JD from Wake Forest University in 1981. He was a Visiting Professor in Criminal Justice at Fayetteville State University for 8 years and has been teaching pre-trial civil law, as well as trial and appellate advocacy, at Campbell University School of Law for 28 years. In 1996, he was elected to the Cumberland County School Board and served for six years, two as Chairman. Rick started his professional career in Fayetteville as Assistant Public Defender, then served 5 years as a law clerk to two federal judges, James C. Fox and Wallace Dixon, and spent 15 years as a member, partner, and for 8 years, managing partner, of the Beaver, Holt law firm.
Rick has received many legislative honors and awards, including the President’s Award from NCAE, Common Cause’s Democracy Award, Defender of Justice Award from the NC Justice Center, Outstanding Legislator Award from the NC Academy of Trial Lawyers, and Legislator of the Year Award from numerous organizations.
Rick is a former member of the Z Smith Reynolds Foundation Advisory Board, the UNC-TV Board of Trustees, the Chief Justice’s Committee on the Future of the Business Courts in North Carolina, the NC Public School Forum Board of Directors, the Cumberland County Children’s Advocacy Center Board, and the Fayetteville Urban Ministry Board. Rick currently serves on North Carolina’s Actual Innocence Inquiry Commission and as a member of the Chief Justice’s Equal Access to Justice Commission as well as the Chief Justice’s Faith and Justice Alliance.
Rick brings a strong commitment to advocating for individuals with disabilities. He has worked on numerous disability discrimination cases as a practicing lawyer, worked for years on issues related to disability and inclusion as a school board member and legislator, and spent years assisting and advocating for his son who has a disability. He is looking forward to continuing to advance North Carolina towards a just society where people with disabilities are free from discrimination and abuse.