About the Author

Ryan is a lifelong Bay Area resident. He graduated from an Oakland public high school in 2005 and focuses his college studies on politics, journalism and writing. He spends his time loving and being frustrated by the city of Oakland, keeping his mind focused through hockey. He covered the Peralta Board of Trustees beat during the Spring 2010 semester among other issues facing East Bay community college students. He runs a student group which attempts to educate, and build a productive conversation around Israel and Palestine, and is engaged in work to bring about a two-state solution to the conflict through strong leadership from the United States.