Barry Ryan serves senior vice president of strategy & small business capital for the Rural Center. In this role, he guides the center’s strategic planning and implementation, leads special initiatives, and oversees its small business lending and investment activities. He joined the staff in 2007 and has led initiatives in rural entrepreneurship, small business lending, workforce development, community engagement, leadership development and disaster recovery. Barry studied Business and Economics at Winthrop University and is a graduate of the center’s Rural Economic Development Institute. Before joining the center, he spent a year on the road camping, hiking and visiting natural treasures across the country. Outside the office, he enjoys pushing the limits of corny humor with his family, exploring the bounty of North Carolina’s locally grown foods & craft beverages, and running in the woods with his dog.
Activist locavore. Audiobook junkie. Mutt runner. Husband & father.