Rice taught English at university for 23 years. From 1998-2008, he was Honors Faculty at East Tennessee State University, and from 2005-08, he also served as Coordinator, Curriculum & Programs, for the Honors College. From 2008-12, he taught high school English, History, and Psychology at Sage Hill School in California.

In fall of 2012, Rice founded and served as CEO of Run with Joe, a 501(c)(3) NPO whose work focused on education in SE Asia, and building bridges between schools there and in the U.S. RWJ was dissolved during six years of caregiving for his mother. The caregiving ended in February 2019 with her passing. In June of that year, Rice founded Synergy and Grace. Whenever he gets the opportunity, he disappears onto the trails at Red River Gorge.