Ryan Grady

Ryan Grady (he/him/his) has earned both his B.A. in Business Administration and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis from UW-Madison. He started his career as a math teacher in rural Arkansas with Teach for America and later became the founding math teacher at KIPP Austin Academy of Arts and Letters (Austin, TX). Over the last decade, he has managed several programs designed to support first-generation and under-represented student populations in accessing and finding success in college. He is a professional certified life and career coach (ICF) with over 6,000 hours coaching young adults toward academic and career success. Ryan moved back to Wisconsin after spending a decade in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has three young daughters and spends most of his time taking his family on fun outdoor adventures and eating lots of ice cream (some of it homemade).

Ryan’s areas of student support expertise:

I have worked as a life coach for over 12 years and have over 5,000 hours of coaching experience.  My specialty is in helping young people identify the vision they have for their life (as a student, professional, and person) and then generating the plan and action to make that vision a reality.

There are four things you should know to understand me:

• I am the father of 3 little girls and I love taking my daughters on various adventures across Wisconsin.
• My favorite kinds of adventures are finding cool beaches and waterfalls!  That said, I am pretty much for anything to do with them that’s safe and fun.
• I was born and raised in Racine and grew up supporting the Badgers, Packers, Brewers, and Bucks.
• My favorite TV show is Ted Lasso.

CeO Scholars Say:

“Ryan is genuine all the time, and consistent. He shows interest in my struggles and is very easy to talk to.”

“When I faced significant challenges, I often struggled with self-doubt and self-criticism. Having had [Ryan] as a coach for two years, he was able to remind me of the strengths and qualities about myself I had forgotten”

“Ryan has always pushed me out of my comfort zone. He would make me think and reflect on things that I would have never thought about before. During hard times, he would stand beside me and make sure that I was getting through them. Every call, he reminds me of who I am and what I stand for.”