Ryan Billingham
As Communications Director, Ryan works closely with our Executive Director and staff to manage, plan, and lead external and internal communications strategies, including digital programs, media content, and member communications.
My story
My appreciation of the natural world began as a child growing up in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. My father, a restaurant manager, moved his young family from St. Louis, Missouri to Colorado where the mountains became our place of respite from the stresses of everyday life. Whenever his schedule allowed, my dad would pack up our rusty blue station wagon and we’d head west. As the cool mountain air flowed over us, that stress melted away. We camped the wilderness, hiked the high trails, and fished the rivers. Those experiences inform the way I live my life – with a profound concern for the preservation of our natural resources.
When I moved to Wisconsin in 1996, it quickly became my home. Its people, its culture, and its unique beauty has held me here ever since. Living between two of the greatest bodies of water on the planet – the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River – comes with remarkable privileges. Those privileges must not be taken for granted. Wisconsin’s rich history of conservation forged by people like Aldo Leopold, Gov. Gaylord Nelson, and John Muir is not only testament to the power of Wisconsin’s natural abundance, but a continuous call to action for its people to protect it.
For two decades, I worked as a journalist in both rural and urban communities. I’ve taken great joy in connecting with passionate people making their communities and their state better places. As Communications Director for Wisconsin Conservation Voters, it’s my priority to ensure the people of the state understand the impact they can make as stewards of our environment, and help empower them to do just that.
Background
Editor of the Oconomowoc Enterprise, 2014-2016
Publication Manager, Hibu Community Magazines, 2012–2013
Editor of the Richland Observer, 2007-2012
Editor of the Hillsboro Sentry-Enterprise, 2007-2012
Editor of the Platteville Journal, 2006-2007
Editor of the Mineral Point Democrat-Tribune, 2004-2006
Madison College, communications, 1997-1999
Seven-time Wisconsin Newspaper Association award-winning journalist
Honorary Research Fellow, UW-Madison, 1997-2000
My interests
I am a news junkie who loves reading, writing, cooking, exploring Wisconsin by foot, bike, and canoe, camping, movies, and being thoroughly taken advantage of by my spoiled French bulldog Daisy and her accomplice collie Matty.
I’m a conservation voter because future generations of Wisconsinites are depending on me.
Favorite place in Wisconsin: It changes often as I continue to discover Wisconsin's incredible places, but being near or on Lake Superior fills me with an energy I wish I could bottle and use everyday.
Email: ryan@conservationvoters.org