aBOUT

Ry Southard always wanted to be an explorer, but circumstances determined he would be happy as a life adventurer. The son of a banker/salesman, Ry lived in 18 homes in 12 states and attended 9 school systems before graduating high school.

After dropping out of college in his first year, Ry continued his wanderlust as a brakeman on the Mount Washington Cog Railroad and hiking the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. He also worked as a laborer for the Danish Forest Service, outdoor education teacher to middle schoolers, and manager of a dive bar on Denver’s Capitol Hill.

Five more colleges later, Ry obtained a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1980. He continued his journey writing software code in Wellington, New Zealand, running long distances in the Adirondacks and the Rocky Mountains, co-founding a financial planning firm, and managing/fundraising for public gardens.