Richard A. "RAC" Carroll, ICAE

Richard A. Carroll, known in the industry as “RAC”, currently serves as the Senior Vice President/COO of Ellis & Associates, Inc. and has 40 years of experience in the industry, the last 25 with Ellis & Associates.  In this role, RAC leads all aspects of E&A’s Global Services including Litigation Support/Expert Witness, Consulting and Program Development. RAC has provided pre-opening and operational consulting for multiple Top 20 International Water Parks, has authored industry related articles and is frequent presenter at worldwide conferences including IAAPA International Safety Institutes, IAAPA Expo and WWA.

RAC’s operational resume started with the Morey Organization in Wildwood NJ, continued at Fame City Waterworks in Houston TX and culminated at Splish Splash in Long Island, NY, a Top 10 Water Park in the USA. RAC spent 10 years building, managing and operating the park whose staff grew from 100 to over 500 while the park’s attendance grew toward 500,000 in a 90 day season.

He currently serves on the IAAPA Global Safety Committee, IAAPA Government Relations Committee, WWA Safety Committee and CMAHC Board of Directors. Past volunteer committee work includes IAAPA Board of Directors, IAAPA Executive Finance, Global M&S Committee, Space Allocation and Government Relations. RAC is also an active member of ASTM F-24 and Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC). 

RAC is an IAAPA Certified Attractions Executive (ICAE) and was honored by the WWA with the Al Turner Commitment to Excellence Award in 2008 and was inducted into the  World Waterpark Hal of Fame in 2021.