Pat Ryan received her Bachelor of Science in Education with a specialization in Art Education at Hofstra University. She completed her Master of Arts in Liberal Studies at SUNY Empire State College, with a thesis entitled "Imaging Victorian Women in Art Nouveau, Literature and the Popular Press: A Case for Visual Literacy."

She taught art in various forms for many years and in varied settings - public school, a school for the gifted, private schools, nursery school and the Town of Oyster Bay Senior Citizens Program. Presently she is an adjunct instructor at SUNY College at Old Westbury, teaching in the First Year Experience Department with an emphasis on the influence of visual media on society. She has exhibited her artwork through the Town of Oyster Bay Rotational Arts Program and won first prize for graphics as an honors student at Hofstra.

Pat has also a history of volunteerism - Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, PTA, and disability-related organizations such as EAD and the Coalition for Disabled Musicians, Inc. Her son Tom is a musician on the autism spectrum and her two daughters work in publishing and law. She is also a grandmother of two.

In support of her son's development as a musician, she has joined EAD and is currently working on the website and sharing her knowledge and experience in nonprofit institutions with the staff. Pat sees a great deal of potential in our new organization and is looking forward to involvement in whatever the future brings.