Rickford Burke is an international law, public policy and political consultant, who has held various positions in both government and private sector in Guyana and the United States. He entered politics at an early age.; serving as technical advisor the Guyanese Minister of Public Service and special assistant to then President of Guyana, Hugh Desmond Hoyte.

In the US he served as Vice President of Saxon National Bank, Northeast Area Manager for General Motors, International Law consultant in the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender, and Policy Advisor to New York City Councilmember David Yassky.

He has also worked on presidential campaigns and has staffed gubernatorial, mayoral, city council, senate, assembly, judicial and congressional political campaigns. Rickford is an outspoken human rights advocate and staunch proponent of the empowerment of Caribbean American communities. He is President of the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID), a foreign relations, good governance and human rights think-tank. During his tenure the Institute established the prestigious "Democracy Prize;" a coveted Award bestowed on Heads of State for upholding principles of democracy, good governance and human rights. The Prize has been awarded to the Prime Ministers of Trinidad & Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados.

He has been in the forefront of multiple campaigns for justice for Guyanese and Caribbean nationals at home, in the US and further afield. He has received numerous awards for his ardent and steadfast advocacy for social justice, immigration rights and against gun violence in African and Caribbean American communities. Rickford sits on the board of directors and committees of a number of companies and not-forprofit organizations. He is a prolific writer who is published in the US, Caribbean, UK and Africa.
 
He a media contributor on international and Caribbean relations and has been a Radio and Television Talk Show host. In 2005 the Network Journal recognized Rickford as one of the most influential black professional achievers in the US.

He holds a Batchelor's Degree in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, a Law Degree and Master of Law from New York University and a Diploma in Business Administration from General Motors University. He has published several academic articles and reports and is an opinion writer for several publications in Guyana, the Caribbean and United States.