Zach Ryan

Greetings! My name is Zach Ryan and I am the Executive Director of The SL24 UnLocke the Light Foundation. Originally from Fort Myers, FL I attended Florida State University and received my Bachelors in Humanities to pursue teaching. Starting my career as a Service Coordinator at Bishop Verot Catholic High School, I was immediately drawn to building bridges within the community, serving, and teaching others how to serve. Upon moving to Delaware, I would serve in various administrative capacities at Salesianum School never losing sight of the call to serve others. Our team in The Center for Faith and Justice would work with students in some of their brightest moments and help them navigate some of the more difficult challenges they were facing. To build upon this experience I earned a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Southern California. I serve on two boards: The St. Patrick’s Center and Bangalore T. Lakshman Foundation for International Services. It is important to me to be a servant leader and lifelong learner, but this path is made so much brighter with the light provided by friends and family. 

The brightest “Lighthouse” is my wife Maggie who is a beautiful model of compassion and gentle strength. Mental health work requires gentle strength, patience, and the ability to model vulnerability. Throughout my personal and professional life mental illness and suicide have made an impact on me and the people I love and care about. Modeling this vulnerability, I can say that I haven’t had answers in these moments and have felt quite helpless. SL24 has “UnLocked” this conversation and it is honor to serve this mission and young people today in the memory of the people that I have lost. They are still lighting the way for me on my personal, spiritual, and professional journey.