RYAN'S RECENT COUNCIL & COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER WORK
Dec. 2016 to Present:
North Orange County Community College District: Board of Trustees / Elected Governing Board Member
• Board President (2020)
• “Orange County Community College Trustee of the Year” (2017)
• Community College League of California’s Excellence in Trusteeship Program Graduate (2019)
Elected to public office in November of 2016 and Re-Elected in 2020 by the residents of Yorba Linda, Brea, La Habra Heights and portions of: La Habra, Fullerton, Placentia, and Anaheim. The NOCCCD Board is responsible for Fullerton College, Cypress College, North Orange Continuing Education; and district operations, including 1) Appointing, supporting, and assessing the performance of the Chancellor; 2) Clarifying the district’s and institutions’ missions; 3) Approving long-range plans and educational programs; 4) Ensuring the well-being of faculty, students, and staff; 5) Ensuring strong financial management ($308 million general fund budget); 6) Ensuring adequate financial resources; 7) Preserving institutional autonomy; 8) Interpreting the district campuses to the community; 9) Interpreting the needs of society to the district and campuses; and 10) Serving as a court of last appeal.
Mar. 2015 to Present:
Yorba Linda Public Library: City Commissioner
Appointed by the Yorba Linda City Council to serve as one of five City Commissioners responsible for providing the City Staff and City Council with guidance and advice on such issues as: the adoption of standards for Library services, the selection of materials, and the establishment of Library policies. The Commission also works closely with the Friends of the Yorba Linda Public Library, local schools, the business community, and other local agencies to ensure the highest quality of service. Helped to plan the new Library and Cultural Arts Center that opened in 2020.
2016 & 2020:
City of Yorba Linda: Citizen of the Year Selection Committee Member
Appointed to help select the Citizen of the Year for 2016 and 2020 by making recommendations to the Mayor.
Oct. 2014 to Present:
City of Yorba Linda & U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency:
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
The CERT Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help.
Apr. 2015 to Jun. 2018:
Parent-Teacher Association - Yorba Linda High School: Legislative Advocacy Chairman
As a local officer of the largest grassroots child advocacy organization in the state, PTA Legislative Advocacy Chairs are responsible for demonstrating leadership on children’s issues at the local level by educating PTA members, community members and elected officials about PTA's issues of concern and legislative priorities and goals. The unit, council or district legislative chair provides PTA members with information about PTA positions on current legislation and issues.
Oct. 2014 to Mar. 2017:
Yorba Linda High School: Master of Ceremonies
Selected to present the varsity volleyball team’s senior class at a home game against their cross-town rivals. The presentation includes introducing the players, their families, and biographical information, including their accomplishments and information regarding the universities they will be attending.
Sep. 2014 to Jun 2018:
Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District: Yorba Linda High School Site Council - Chairman
Internally elected Chairman as one of three community members elected to serve on the Site Council who helps guide one of the finest public schools in the nation in its pursuit of continual excellence and who manages the approval of expenditures as they correlate to the School's Single Plan, Mission, Vision, and Values.
Mar. 2013 to Mar. 2016:
Colorado State University: MBA Program Advisory Council
Appointed by the CSU MBA Program Director and MBA Advisory Council Selection Committee. The Colorado State University MBA Advisory Council evaluates the MBA program experience from the perspective of current students and recent graduates for the purpose of identifying improvement opportunities for implementation to achieve continued excellence and international recognition.
May 2012 to Nov. 2016:
City of Yorba Linda: General Plan Advisory Committee - Vice Chairman
Internally elected Vice-Chair after being appointed by the City Council to serve as one of five at-large Committee Members who joined existing City Commissioners for the purpose of drafting Yorba Linda's 20-year General Plan, which will guide all policy decisions and their implementation on a go-forward basis.
Jul. 2013 to Aug. 2013:
Orange County Sheriff’s Department: Citizens’ Academy Graduate - Class # 1
Selected by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department - Community Relations Manager. The Citizens’ Academy is designed to give citizens an in-depth look at the daily operations of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The curriculum includes interactive course instruction along with field trips provided by a variety of Sheriff’s Department personnel who are experts in their respective fields.
RYAN'S BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
FAMILY:
Married to Emily Bent
Children: Madilyne, Claire, Nolan, and Jane
Rare Year: We have a kid in College, High School, Junior High, and Elementary School
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE & GRADUATE STUDIES:
Over the last 25 years, Ryan has been employed by outstanding corporations, like Disney, Canon, Fujifilm, and Kodak. Over the course of his career, Ryan has had the unique opportunity to partner with hundreds of businesses, including Fortune 500 companies, large multi-national corporations, regional organizations, government agencies, universities, colleges, school districts, and local businesses. During these years, he has been an executive that specializes in business productivity services and equipment, workflow solutions, and financial services. Ryan continuously draws upon his experience to offer skilled evaluations, process reviews, and counsel to his clients.
In addition to a demanding work schedule, Ryan pursued the continuing of his education to help prepare him for future executive management opportunities in business and public service opportunities in and around his community. He first attended Cal State Northridge to complete his Master of Public Administration degree with university honors. In the middle of this program, Ryan’s second daughter was born. After completing the program, Ryan began coaching his oldest daughter’s softball team for a couple seasons before having a third child, Ryan and Emily’s only son. A couple years later, Ryan evaluated Master of Business Administration programs locally and elsewhere before selecting the distance program offered by Colorado State University, which would allow him to be a rare student in their joint program. This offering allowed him to simultaneously pursue a CSU MBA with a Master Certificate in Federal Financial Management from Graduate School USA in Washington DC and another Certificate in Finance from the CSU College of Business.
While in the middle of the Colorado State University program, Ryan and Emily’s third and final daughter was born. Around that time, Ryan was also selected to become a MBA Program Mentor for fellow students. Upon graduation, Ryan was appointed by the MBA Program Director to the university’s MBA Advisory Council, where he served for three years, wrote multiple guidance reports for the Deans, completely re-drafted the council’s charter, and later wrote the charter’s first amendment. Through this council, Ryan worked with other extraordinary professionals from across the country, who would work remotely together throughout the year completing projects for the university, but who formally came together for meetings a couple times a year. Many great friends were made during these years and their collective dedication to volunteerism, in order to give back to their university, was an inspiration to all involved. Ryan enjoyed his many trips to the beautiful Fort Collins, CO campus and his wife, Emily, occasionally joined him as their family schedule would allow. One of the times, they took the opportunity to enjoy a post-meeting road trip to see Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
After becoming heavily involved in higher education, as Yorba Linda’s Trustee representative for the North Orange County Community College District Board, Ryan decided to pursue graduate degrees in higher education administration and leadership. He evaluated several programs before attending a campus orientation visit with his eldest daughter. She was accepted into Liberty University in Virginia to pursue her degree in Nursing. Ryan became very impressed by the entire campus community and the following year, he applied and was accepted into their Ph.D. program. Since that time, he has completed a Post-Master’s degree in Higher Education Leadership (Ed.S) and a Certificate in Higher Education Administration. Ryan completed all coursework with a 4.0 GPA and is now considered "all but the dissertation" done with the program.
EARLY LIFE THROUGH UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION:
Ryan, along with his younger brother, grew up in Yorba Linda the best way possible, benefiting from excellent schools, abundant athletic fields, and a great public library. Both of Ryan’s parents were raised in military families as his grandfathers served in the Navy and Air Force. After the better part of 5 decades in the workforce, Ryan’s now retired Dad was a construction manager, who also enjoyed coaching his little league baseball teams, and his work-ethic eventually earned him an executive management position for a major homebuilder. Ryan’s Mom was also an active volunteer who helped coach a first couple seasons of youth soccer, occasionally parent-taught ‘Project Self-Esteem’ classes, and assisted teachers at Ryan’s elementary school before beginning her own 30-year teaching career, where she worked hard for the La Habra City School District. She retired in 2017 and is enjoying a new lease on life. The 1980s and early-1990s were a great time to be a kid. In between sports seasons, Ryan enjoyed his family’s various hobbies, including taking river trips, dirt biking, snow skiing, camping vacations, and family get-togethers.
During the high school years, Ryan attended Esperanza HS and was fortunate to play three sports his freshman year before focusing on two for the remaining years. He was on varsity teams for seven seasons between Football and Wrestling, won multiple championships, and was a member of one of the most accomplished wrestling teams in his school’s history. His wrestling team also had the incredible opportunity to learn from the great Dan Gable himself, while attending the University of Iowa’s summer training camp together. Once the final season ended his senior year, Ryan started working at Disneyland, where he worked through college and received multiple promotions over his eventual 5-year tenure.
In a personal growth moment, at age 18, Ryan weighed his options and decided to not pursue athletics further in order to focus more intently on his College education and his new job working for Disney, which he believed would prepare him well for a future in business. He enrolled at Fullerton College and also accepted a seasonal wrestling coach position at his former high school, where he instructed members of the Varsity, JV, and Freshman teams for three seasons. Ryan had a great experience at Fullerton College, where he majored in business, was challenged by the rigor of his coursework, felt at-home on campus, and was impressed by the caliber of his professors.
Ryan continued his business education at Cal State Fullerton where he became intricately involved on campus. By the time he graduated, Ryan had been Captain of the University’s Advertising Team, and held various leadership positions on the Advertising Club’s Board. Ryan was also appointed by the CSUF College of Communications to be the only business major serving on their Inter-Club Leadership Council & Financial Committee. Immediately after graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Ryan embarked on a new career focused on business to business marketing, sales, and finance.