Local life-long public servant Clarence Richardson receives Hero Award

Clarence Richardson’s enthusiasm for community service seems boundless. He serves on three nonprofit boards and has dedicated his career to helping the public. “Waltham has so many great organizations,” he said. “I wish I could be a part of all of them.” 

Richardson moved to the Boston area for law school, eventually settling in Waltham in 2010 with his wife, Anna. He has served on the board of numerous community organizations, ran for a councilor-at-large position in 2017 and is a former chair of the Waltham Democratic City Committee. He is being recognized for his exceptional service and leadership within the community with a Hero Award from the WDCC on May 3.

A career in law

Richardson attended Central Michigan University and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science, later earning his law degree from New England Law. After working for a year in financial services, Richardson landed a job with an elder law attorney in 2012. He became the executive director of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys in 2018, which has been his full-time job since the end of 2024.

Richardson’s work with MassNAELA has mostly revolved around Medicaid. 

“We’ve tried to work with the state to expand access to home- and community-based service programs through Medicaid to hopefully keep people in their homes and allow them to age in place,” he said. 

He also has worked to help those who have made mistakes in the Medicaid application process gain coverage. 

“It’s a very challenging and complicated process,” said Richardson. “Helping each family is very rewarding. Being able to have that sort of statewide impact and that policy impact is very important to me.”

In his free time, Richardson teaches spin classes and volunteers with a variety of community organizations.

A history of leadership 

Richardson sits on several boards within city organizations, including Gore Place and the Waltham Partnership for Youth. He previously served on the Waltham Historical Commission from 2015 to 2017 and was the chair of the WDCC from 2022 to 2024. He is still a member of the WDCC. 

One of Richardson’s goals as chair of the WDCC was to create more opportunities for candidates to engage with the public. He arranged meet and greets at the Robert Treat Paine Estate to connect candidates from city and state elections with their constituents. 

“We’re really just trying to keep people engaged in the democratic process and promoting the sort of issues that are important to us as well,” Richardson said of the organization.

Richardson is honored to receive the Hero Award, and hopes to use the award to make new connections in the community. 

“It’s given me another opportunity to talk about the missions of these organizations to people that I never thought cared,” Richardson said. “It’s an additional reward for receiving the award.”