“We wanderers are the seeds of the tenacious plant, and it is in our ripeness and our fullness of heart that we are given to the wind and are scattered.”
— KAHLIL GIBRAN, THE PROPHET
I grew up canoeing in Ontario’s near-north with immigrant grandparents from Europe and Africa. Camping and other outdoor experiences were a constant for me and I became an explorer, a traveler, and a lover of wild places. I have paddled, cycled, hiked, surfed, and skied most corners of this incredible planet in pursuit of adventure. In 2014-2015 my brother and I rode motorcycles from Canada to the southern tip of Argentina, calling ourselves the North Shore Nomads.
After this transformational trip, I suffered a devastating concussion. Mindfulness and meditation became a way for me to recover and heal and led to years of deep personal practice. With the advent of my head injury, my exploration and discovery turned inward — one thing I hold firmly is that our most precious commodity is our attention.
I see a world that is scattered, distracted, and yearning for belonging and connection. Self-awareness and trust are often lacking — in our leaders, the workplace, intimate relationships, and perhaps most critically, in our hope for the future. We live in a time that urgently needs compassion and understanding. It calls us to offer each other our gifts of presence and openness, especially when we gather in person. I think humanity can achieve great things but only through ‘togetherness’, a concept that speaks to our interdependence and our interconnected relationship to self, to each other, and to the Earth.
My educational background is in global development studies and large-landscape conservation. I’ve worked for many years at the intersection of conservation, “natural resource management”, and First Nations relationships — something we are now calling land and water relationships in the North. I was the chair of the Kootenay Lake Partnership, a watershed co-governance board in BC’s southern interior and have professionally worked in various planner roles in Alberta, BC, and the Yukon.
In addition to my coaching work, I am a co-founder of the Yukon Solutions Lab — a platform designed to engage participants in problem-solving dialogues and reshape cultural narratives, and I mentor athletes in mental sport performance.
I respectfully reside in the Traditional Territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council, and believe that we are all Treaty People on Turtle Island / Canada's path to reconciliation.
About Ryan
Pictures that tell a thousand words
I like to live boldly and compassionately.
“Ryan was active in the Institute for Canadian Citizenship’s 6 Degrees gatherings on immigration and citizenship, where I saw his ability to relate and work comfortably with diverse people and make the necessary effort to understand their reality. Something which isn’t said enough about people – Ryan knows Canada. This is far more complicated and important than we admit – particularly given that unlike most Canadians he knows much of the North, the serious experience of the non-urban, the toughness of so much of Canada. One result is his ability to reflect and act on these very different aspects of Canada.”
— JOHN RALSTON SAUL, WRITER, PHILOSOPHER AND AUTHOR OF VOLTAIRE’S BASTARDS AND A FAIR COUNTRY