Richard Cantu currently serves as a member of the Harris County Department of Education Board of Trustees Position 3. He was elected to this position in 2018 and is serving his first term. He is a former president of the Harris County Department of Education and a former director of the Mayor’s Citizens’ Assistance Office.

Richard currently works as an Executive Director of the East Aldine Management District and Hawes Hill & Associates. He previously worked as the director of the Mayor’s Citizens’ Assistance Office and as a manager of Youth Development Programs at Neighborhood Centers Inc.

Richard is from Houston. He holds an associate's degree from Houston Community College, a bachelor's degree in political science and government from the University of Houston, and a master's degree in public administration from the University of St. Thomas. He is a Catholic.