Tamra Ryan
CEO
Women's Bean Project
Denver, CO USA
“Whenever we think that we’re giving, we’re always getting. I came to this place thinking that it was about others’ transformation, and in the process, I’ve been transformed.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationTamra Ryan
Milestones
My road in life has taken me all over.
I grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, as the eldest of four children.
When I graduated high school, my dream job was to design shoes for Nike, so I went to the University of Colorado at Boulder and earned my bachelor’s degree in kinesiology.
After graduating from college, I thought I might want to be a researcher, so I moved to New York for graduate school and earned a master’s degree in physiology.
By the time I finished graduate school, I knew becoming a researcher was not the right fit for me, so I moved to Chicago, Illinois and started my career.
As I gained more experience, my career path led me into marketing.
I eventually realized that the things I valued most were back in Colorado, so I moved back to my home state.
I learned about Women’s Bean Project and felt drawn to the mission, so I spent about six months volunteering on the sales and marketing committee.
When the position for CEO opened up, I decided to apply and ended up getting the job—I’ve been the CEO of Women’s Bean Project for 18 years now!
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Bachelor
Kinesiology
University of Colorado at Boulder
Kinesiology
University of Colorado at Boulder
Career
CEO
I manage a social enterprise that provides stepping stones to change the lives of chronically unemployed women.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Business
Non-Profit Organizations
Helping People
Day to Day
My main role as CEO is to think about the future of the business. I think about what our future will look like and how we might get there. I then bring in resources to support the company in realizing that future—that could mean supporting sales or fundraising. I also get to meet and spend time building relationships with all of the women who work for us. The third piece of my job is to help others within the organization do their jobs. That primarily means performing coaching or trainings.
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"You can't change the world."
