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A native of Ohio, Ryan came to Las Cruces, New Mexico as an AmeriCorps member developing programs focused on domestic violence and child witnesses of domestic violence. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, he quickly connected to the local PFLAG chapter as a way to find community in a new space. His work has focused on creating safe spaces for youth in the context of the border region he lives and serves. In PFLAG, he has found community and opportunities to address issues through education and advocacy.
Eventually becoming president of PFLAG Las Cruces in 2016, Ryan has worked to develop programming that highlights intersections within the LGBTQIA+ community. His chapter has held forums exploring challenges such as homelessness, domestic violence, and immigration, ensuring queer people could share their voices and lived experiences from facing these issues. He believes strongly in bringing people together and creating safe spaces to do so.
Ryan’s chapter has created several local programs such as their Safe Space fund, giving support to LGBTQIA+ individuals needing housing, rent, or utility assistance, and their Rainbow Refugee Project which supported nine LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers, allowing them to be released from detention and continue to work towards a new life in the United States.