A native Californian who has lived in small town Tennessee, Oregon and Washington before moving to the San Diego area. I am graduate of Oregon State University with a B.S. in Environmental Biology. I worked for both the Federal Government at the Bureau of Land Management and local county government in Washington State.
After government service, I spent many years in quality management, research/development and operations management for food, beverage, dairy, supplements, military devices and medical devices. My corporate career demonstrated leadership and focused on improving product and processes, cutting costs, daily problem solving, increasing efficiency and improving customer experience. I have a distinguished work record with several industry leaders including Osmonics - a division of GE, Metabolife, Jenny Craig and Pepsi Cola, where I took over the plant rated the bottom of quality in the US turned it around and won the coveted Caleb Bradham award for quality.
I have always been a self starter. While in the corporate world, I also worked hard on developing different businesses, learning investment strategies including stock markets, real estate and others. I am a small business owner with a California Brokers License focusing on commercial and residential real estate in southern California. I had the foresight to warn my clients that the housing market was going to crumble in 2005, something even longer term industry veterans did not predict.
The second leg: A support system beyond
My wife Karen and I met thru a fluke. I was visiting the first and only local food technology meeting I ever attended. It was held at her place of work, after hours. She just happened to be working late that day and we bumped into each other. We met and talked about barbeque and it was all over for both of us! Karen grew up in a small community in Pennsylvania, graduated from Trinity college with a B.A. in Business and a M.S. in Education from St. Joseph University. After moving to California she has worked for non-profits for the last 20 years including at the Elementary Institute of Science and now UCSD at the Shiley Eye Institute.
The third leg: Giving to community pays dividends
We have been consistently involved in protecting animal welfare. Both volunteering and donating to various animal agencies and dog rescues. In the past I helped raise and train guide dogs puppies for the blind in Washington and have spent many years helping dogs in the San Diego, Poway and southern California area. Most recently we helped nurse a 4 month old yorkie back to health that was found in a drain 40ft down in Rancho Penasquitos. I stopped counting after helping over 100 dogs while volunteering with local rescue groups, many dogs saved at the last minute. I was only one of several people who help these dogs daily, but every dog saved is important to us.
When I first moved to Poway we adopted a 9 month old female yellow lab named Bailey. She was a mess when we first got her like many dogs in bad circumstances. She had both eye and ear infections and a few other health problems. We thought she might have been debarked because she never barked at anything or made much noise. One day, about 2 years after she came to live with us, a mailman walked by and I heard a slight yip! I was wondering what dog walking by was trying to talk to Bailey. A few days later, I heard a yip, yip! I figured it was the same dog walking by. Within a week, Bailey let out a hearty bark and from that point on, barked like a normal dog. It took her 2 years to find her voice but we're glad she did. She lived with us until 2013 when she went over the rainbow bridge to chase lizards and bunnies.
We then adopted Bear, a three year old male yellow lab troublemaker named Bear. He was a handful. Bear has a checkered past and unfortunately he had been thru at least 7 homes before he came to us and he had lots of issues, including nerve damage to his nose from abuse. Luckily he has had a stable home with us now and is one of the most loving sweet creatures I have ever met. Bear and I are almost daily visitors to the Poway dog park where he burns off lots of energy. I was successful in leading the Save Poway Dog Park Campaign to halt the replacement of the grass with bark dust.
The final leg: A love for the community of Poway
I fell in love when I moved to Poway. While visiting a coworker, I found the country town I was looking for and moved here soon after. The people of Poway are so amazing and the community is a step above the rest of the San Diego area. I have walked most of the trails, visited the parks, shopped in the stores, patronized the restaurants, climbed the mountains, driven the back roads and appreciated many sunsets on the Poway horizon. From the farmers market to the Fourth of July celebrations, historical community and pride in hometown, there is much to love. I hope to continue to improve conditions in Poway for all the residents, workers and visitors to our great city. Seek transparency from city hall and make sound financial decisions utilizing all resources and options available.
Paid for by Ryan for Poway Council 2018 #1408573