Meet Our Staff

Ryan grew up on a small farm east of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada where he developed a strong passion for understanding and appreciating wildlife. Ryan has channeled that passion into nine years of scientific work in the Arctic. He is attracted to the very unique challenges that living things face in the Arctic (e.g. low temperatures and changing daylight hours) and the adaptations that plants and animals have to survive this extreme environment. He believes that examining these characteristics helps him learn not just about the Arctic, but about how entire ecosystems and cultures function.

Ryan is a Ph. D. candidate in environmental science at the University of Manitoba where he is studying the interactions between elk and agriculture around Riding Mountain National Park in southern Manitoba. In addition to serving as a field workshop faculty member for Global Explorers, he has been helping to develop the preparatory curriculum for students that who travel to the Arctic.

Ryan loves to bring the joy of field science to students of all ages. He has worked with various organizations in Canada to develop student programs related to conservation and ecology. He believes students leave the Arctic with a strong determination to come back again (just like he did!). After all, it is rare that someone only goes to the Arctic once in their lifetime!