Dan Ryder

Idea wrangler, design thinker and head scratcher, Dan Ryder serves as Director of Design & Innovation at Community Regional Charter School, a public charter school in rural Skowhegan, Maine, that combines best practices of human centered design, restorative practices, and personalized learning. With 25 years of classroom teaching, recognition from state and national organizations (Apple Distinguished Educator 2017, Horace Mann NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence 2018), Dan has experience integrating creativity and design thinking into humanities and STEM courses for struggling 7th graders through college-enrolled 12th graders. He also directs, performs, and workshops improv comedy with his team, Teachers Lounge Mafia, and lives on social media as @wickeddecent.