Team

Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Ryan earned a degree in Human and Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University and a master’s degree in Organizational Development and Transformation from the California Institute of Integral Studies. His academic and professional path has focused on empowering people, strengthening human systems, and creating healthier, conscious, and more sustainable organizational cultures.

Over the past 32 years, Ryan has worked in a wide range of settings. His path has included social work, higher education, consulting, real estate, entrepreneurship, and professional disc golf. Having worked in twenty four different vocations since the age of 13, Ryan brings a grounded understanding of how people experience work, leadership, transition, purpose, uncertainty, and personal growth.

From 2001 to 2011, Ryan taught full time in the business department at Mars Hill College. He later served as a Strategy and Organizational Development Specialist for the Small Business Technology Development Center, where he supported business clients throughout the 28 county region of Western North Carolina. Since returning to Center for Meaningful Work, Ryan has continued to support individuals, leaders, teams, and organizations seeking to become more conscious, effective, and aligned in their life work.

Ryan’s approach is practical, reflective, and integrative. He helps people clarify what matters, understand what is getting in the way, make better decisions, and develop practices that support meaningful action. His work is rooted in the belief that lasting change begins when people become more aware of how they think, communicate, relate, choose, and use their energy.

In addition to his work through Center for Meaningful Work, Ryan has spent much of his adult life practicing many of the same principles he teaches to clients. As an entrepreneur, he has created multiple businesses connected to his values, interests, and abilities. One of the clearest examples is his work in disc golf, where he has found a way to make a living through one of his deepest passions. He is a member and manager of Disc Golf Design Group, LLC, where he helps design and build disc golf courses throughout the Southeastern United States. His work in disc golf also includes professional competition, player education, lessons, and co-authoring The Definitive Guide to Disc Golf.

Ryan’s personal path has been shaped by a lifelong interest in the world’s religions, spiritual traditions, mindfulness, and the connection between inner work and outer action. He is a fully ordained minister through the Alliance of Divine Love and has received extensive training in mindfulness and spiritually based pedagogy. He continues to study somatic practices that help calm the body, ease the mind, and support more centered living.

Richard’s passion for helping people and organizations create meaningful work and live with intention and authenticity has developed over his four-decade career. As a psychotherapist, he observed how clients struggling with anxiety, depression, addiction, or relationship conflict were often searching for a deeper sense of purpose. Working with organizations, he recognized the same principle at a systems level: when people are disconnected from meaning in their work, creativity, engagement, innovation, and ultimately organizational performance suffer. That insight became the foundation for the Center for Meaningful Work.

Today, Richard is especially passionate about working with entrepreneurs and founders who are building businesses that reflect their deepest values. He enjoys helping clients clarify their vision, shape compelling service offerings, develop sustainable business models, and bring meaningful ideas successfully into the marketplace. His coaching style is strategic, practical, and deeply personal—combining psychological insight, organizational development, systems thinking, and contemplative wisdom to help clients move from inspiration to implementation.