Ryan T. Wallace is an administrative law attorney by day, community servant by night … and, most recently, FYI’s newest board member.
“Essentially, through my involvement in the community, I was asked to be a part of the FYI board,” Wallace said Wallace. “After researching it, I thought it was a great way to give back to the community.”
Wallace currently serves as vice president of the Friends of the New Carlisle Public Library, is an Ohio High School Athletic Association basketball official, serves as a voluntary arbitrator and is an active member of the Gathering of Miami Valley men’s group. He has been involved with FFA in the past, was a board member for the Springfield Arts Council and was an assistant football coach at Urbana University for two years.
He is also a Medway Church member, where he is a small group leader and helps with special events, especially the annual “Breakfast With Santa.”
“I am a big fan of Christmas; it is my favorite holiday,” he said.
The ministry focus of FYI was an obvious draw.
“As a Christian, I believe we are called to help people in all areas of life,” he said. “I thought, ‘What better way to help mothers as they raise families in the community.’ The other part that attracted me was being able to provide education and resources for the students in the community.”
The other big draw to FYI was family. He and wife Kristian have four children: Olivia, Ali, Hunter and Hayden.
“Family is important to me,” he said. “I enjoy spending time with my family. My flexible work schedule affords me some time to be with my family and be involved in other things in the community.”
Wallace remembers always being community-minded.
“It has just always been part of my fabric,” he said. “My job affords me time to invest in people and in the community. I think it is important to have mentors. If someone has a talent and life experiences that they can share with people, they should share them. I think we are better when we share.”
As a first-generation college graduate, Wallace’s main goal is “to help the organization achieve its mission.”
He also has a personal interest in stopping human trafficking and has a heartbeat for FYI’s stated mission of rescuing kids
“That’s the big thing,” he said. “I want to help provide every reason for students to have a successful life and mothers to have successful pregnancies and a positive experience as a mother.”
“Certainly, my legal background can help in some areas,” he said. “But I think I bring a lot more to the table than that, like my experience in team building as a coach, building relationships in the community and I love setting and achieving goals. I am very goal-oriented. I like challenging situations and being able to overcome them.”
He is excited to get started.
“I’m here to roll up my sleeves and help,” he said. “I like to be on ground-zero. I want to work with people to achieve big things.”
To see profiles of all FYI’s board members, visit https://www.fyiohio.org/board-of-directors.