Ryan's Biography
I was born in southern Mississippi, before moving to northern Virginia at the age of three, where I spent much of my childhood before my family returned to Mississippi when I was 13 for my father’s career. I was raised with a love for Star Trek: The Next Generation, a passion I shared with my father as we watched it together every night while it was in syndication. Those evenings sparked a lifelong appreciation for the ideals of exploration, teamwork, diversity, and adventure that I feel Star Trek represents. Some of my fondest childhood memories are the Star Trek-themed birthday parties I had, celebrating the universe that captured my imagination… and would hold that imagination throughout my developmental years. After graduating high school, I attended Hinds Community College, where I met my wife, and then transferred to Mississippi State University, earning a Civil Engineering degree with a minor in Mathematics in 2010. My professional journey took me to Houston, Texas, for two years before we made our way back to Mississippi in 2012, where we’ve lived ever since.
My STARFLEET journey began at conventions where I met members of the USS New Orleans, who introduced me to the USS Haise in Jackson, MS. After connecting with the crew, I officially joined STARFLEET in October of 2013 onboard the Haise. Shortly thereafter, in March of 2014, I helped organize the Region 2 Summit hosted by the Haise, where I got my first exposure to the Regional and Organizational structure of STARFLEET. To my surprise, I found it remarkably similar to the framework of my college fraternity’s national structure, which immediately felt familiar and engaging.
Later that same year, Region 2 held elections for Regional Coordinator (RC). Although my initial intention was simply to introduce myself to the larger membership and demonstrate my willingness to contribute, circumstances led to my election after a runoff vote. On January 1, 2015, I officially took on the role of RC for Region 2.
Over the next several years, I focused on fostering connections within my region and across the organization. I found my voice on the Admiralty Board, unafraid to represent my region’s interests and champion initiatives with passion and honesty. While I’ll admit I’ve been wrong at times, I’ve always believed in the importance of speaking up, advocating for transparency, and safeguarding STARFLEET from those who may act counter to its values. Many of the major policies and initiatives during that time were either directly written by me or heavily influenced by my efforts to represent the best interests of the membership.
When David Nottage, RC of Region 4, decided to step down and asked me to join him as his candidate for Vice Commander, STARFLEET, I eagerly accepted. David’s friendship has made for a productive partnership in our roles. While we haven’t always agreed, we’ve consistently found common ground and worked together to deliver meaningful results for STARFLEET.
Throughout this Administration, I had a feeling that someone might ask me to run for Commander, STARFLEET but thought to only do so if approached by the “right person”. While I originally planned to step back, let the work David and I accomplished “breathe,” and possibly consider another run for RC in the future, everything changed when Richard Sams approached me. Richard, one of my closest friends and someone whose opinion I deeply value, expressed his belief in the importance of continuing and expanding the work David and I had begun. From that conversation grew our campaign’s theme: Forward, Together.
Our vision is to build upon the foundation we’ve laid during our time as RCs and as CS/VCS. We aim to honor STARFLEET’s history while pushing the organization into an exciting and innovative future – strengthening partnerships with Star Trek rights-holders and offering unique opportunities for members. Together, we can grow this organization exponentially and bring new life to what STARFLEET can offer.
We’re excited about this vision, and we hope you’ll join us on this journey. Let’s move Forward, Together.