Ryan is currently a graduate student pursuing his PhD at Duke University in the field of ecology with a concentration in conservation.  He has visited every continent other than Antarctica, and has participated in conservation projects across four different continents.  Although experienced with still photography, he is most passionate about using documentaries to communicate science to a wider audience.  While at Duke, he is also one of the leaders of the group, Duke SNAP (Stories for Nature and People) which promotes scientific communication using all media types through a combination of teaching students how to generate content as well as pairing with local NGO’s to tell their conservation stories.