Dr. Ry Brennan is an engaged intellectual who appreciates complexity and values risk. Rejecting simple explanations for social phenomenon, their analytic approach is to trace the connections among organizations, ecologies, and technologies that constitute society. Viewed this way, they have found novel points of leverage, encouraging them to pursue a wide array of strategies and assemble a heterogenous set of professional skills for advancing justice and autonomy.
They are grateful for the opportunities they have had to develop skills in academic publishing, undergraduate mentorship, qualitative and quantitative research, small business management, evaluation, and consulting. They are eager to see where these skills take them next.
Tar Pits at Carpinteria State Beach. This source was used in the original pavement of the CA 101. Photo by Ry Brennan.
About Me
Ry grew up in Weare, New Hampshire. They graduated Williams College in 2012, with a year abroad at Oxford University, where they studied political and sociological theory. They moved to Santa Barbara, California, in 2013, where they spent many years organizing, learning, and teaching. In 2020, they moved to Long Beach, California, where they have founded two worker self-directed enterprises. Outside their work, they enjoy backpacking with their mother, studying philosophy, roller skating, and reading science fiction.
Haynes Power Plant, Long Beach, CA. Photo by Ry Brennan.
In their academic and professional work, Dr. Ry Brennan has sought to:
demonstrate the importance of decentralization and resilience in technological systems
leverage mixed-methods designs to evaluate green products according to rigorous criteria
create novel ways for nonprofits and small businesses to organize their workplaces democratically
establish tools for goal-setting among diverse stakeholders in building trades unions and environmental groups
maximize efficiency and growth in nonhierarchical workplaces
empower undergraduates to become responsible agents of change
