Rick Rekedal
Director of Belmont University’s Christianity and the Arts Initiative
Rick Rekedal is an award-winning, master storyteller bringing truth, light, and lessons through the power of story, arts, and artistic expression throughout his three-decade career.
Rick’s expertise is centered in a heart for reaching families right where they are, including more than 20 years with DreamWorks Studios, where his roles included Chief Creative, Global Franchises; Global Head of Interactive and Online and Head of Consumer Products, Licensing & Retail. Major properties include The Prince of Egypt, Spirit, Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, How To Train Your Dragon, Trolls, The Lost World: Jurassic Park; Men in Black, Small Soldiers and Saving Private Ryan. Also, Rick was a key part of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Rick’s work has been recognized with two Annie Awards for Best Animated Videogame; two Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards for Videogame of the Year; Family Board Game of the Year, and Action Figure of the Year. Rick has developed IP with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment; an animated preschool series for YouTube; and original book titles with VeggieTales co-creator Mike Nawrocki.
In 2023, Rick was interim CEO and President of David C Cook & Integrity Music as part of his consulting company TheStoryCrate.com, leading Cook/Integrity to three USA Today bestsellers and cresting over 1 million YouTube subscribers, reaching 237 countries with over 300 million views. Through StoryCrate Rick has developed original intellectual properties including Shapes: Rise of the Jaggeds, a graphic novel series published by Cave Pictures Publishing; and One Small Step, a personal story of a young family dealing with the effects of suicide and alcoholism recovery. A new title (Un)Varnished: The Cry of Ramah, is scheduled for release in 2025.
In January 2024, Rick joined Nashville-based Belmont University as Chief Creative Officer and Executive Director of the Creative Arts Collective, funded by a $32MM grant from the Lilly Endowment. Rick also serves Belmont in a residency as Senior Fellow for Storytelling and is a trustee with Los Angeles Pacific University. Father to three strong independent daughters, Rick has been married to his wife Vicki for over 30 years.