Ben Ryan

Biography

Dr. Ryan is a Professor in the Frist College of Medicine at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. He has experience working, researching, and teaching in environmental public health, disaster risk reduction, and community resilience. This includes leading and supporting activities in these fields across the Americas, Europe, and Indo-Pacific. He has worked at all levels of government in Australia, federally in the United States, as a consultant, and in academia. Research funders include the World Health Organization (WHO), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). He has supported disaster preparedness for health systems, conducted public health assessments in city and rural settings, responded to disasters and disease outbreaks, activated emergency operations centers, and led multi-national research projects.

During his career, Dr. Ryan has led teams, operationalization of concepts, development of multi-year plans, academic accreditation processes, and graduate programs. He is a resource person for the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s (UNDRR) Global Education and Training Institute and supported development of a United Nations public health system resilience scorecard. Dr. Ryan’s leadership skills have been used to organize workshops for UNDRR, government agencies, and Belmont University, guide health sector preparations for the G20 Finance Ministers meetings in Australia, and as part of United States delegations engaging with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Dr. Ryan is a first-generation college student. He completed a Ph.D. at James Cook University in Australia where strategies were developed for reducing the impact of disasters on people with non-communicable diseases. He completed a Master of Public Health at the University of Wollongong and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health at Griffith University where he received an award for academic excellence. Dr. Ryan has published peer-reviewed articles, contributed to books, written policy briefs, and conducted media interviews. Finally, he welcomes any opportunity to develop and support locally led solutions that improve the wellbeing of others and enable communities to thrive.