Ricky Shafer joined the Collaborative Classroom family in 2023 as a Manager of Educational Partnerships after serving 25 years in public education. He began his career coaching Speech and Debate at Kansas State University before moving to Lubbock, Texas, where he coached the nationally ranked Texas Tech Forensics Union.
For the past 15 years, Ricky worked at one of the largest charter school organizations in the country where he taught English and social studies for 4th grade through high school, before ultimately serving as an Instructional Coach in ELAR for six schools in the West Texas district. He currently serves as an Adjunct Instructor for Texas Tech, where he has taught Public Speaking for over two decades.