Our History When lawyer, businessman, and former Los Angeles Mayor and former California Secretary for Education Richard J. Riordan created The Riordan Foundation in 1981, his goal was simple: to enable people to acquire the skills necessary to compete successfully in society. To accomplish this, his plan was also simple: to teach children how to read and write at an early age and to nurture leadership skills in young adults. Now, over 25 years later, The Riordan Foundation has left an impressive legacy of computer-based, early childhood literacy programs across the country and youth development and leadership programs with over 2,400 graduates. Through our signature Rx for Reading programs, The Riordan Foundation has proudly distributed over 24,700 computers to over 2,120 schools in 40 states and provided funds for over 162,750 books purchased for elementary classroom libraries.