A graduate of DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts, Ryan was involved with the Chicago International Film Festival for nine years as an archivist, technical manager, programmer, and ultimately as the CineYouth Festival Director. Currently, Ryan is the Managing Director of the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY), the world’s largest youth festival highlighting work by filmmakers 24 and younger. When he’s not programming films for festivals or his podcast, you can catch Ryan trekking through the mountains of the PNW or sitting with his cat reading a book.