Leading a Movement

Drawing on her personal experiences, Ryan inspires audiences to become the best versions of themselves through service to their communities. Using military service members and their families as models, she provides practical ways to create a culture of servant leadership in a wide range of environments. Ryan believes in taking a strengths-based approach, empowering people to lean into their individual character as a means to improve personal well-being and cultivate change on a larger scale.

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Impactful Message

The Knock at the Door

Three Gold Star women, linked forever by unimaginable loss, share their inspiring, unlikely journey that began on the worst day of their lives.

After losing her brother, 1stLt Travis Manion, USMC, in Iraq in 2007, Ryan joined an intimate community of our country’s Gold Star family members who lost a loved one to war. Bonded by grief and purpose, Ryan joins two other women in a book of personal accounts about turning loss into inspiration for others through service. Explore how finding new purpose helped each of them escape the trap of despair and inaction, and their road map for anyone who has ever had to answer their own knock at the door.

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More about Ryan

Ryan lost her brother to war and her mother to cancer, and she’s the daughter of a retired Marine. A wife and mom to three, she is no stranger to resiliency and how to struggle well in life. Now the CEO of one of the nation’s leading veteran service organizations – the Travis Manion Foundation – Ryan works to empower veterans and families of fallen heroes to inspire future generations to change.

A highly regarded and sought-after advocate for the military community, she has dedicated her life to honoring service men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice, the families they left behind, and the veterans they served alongside. In addition to dedicating much of her time to service projects across the globe, Ryan also serves as an elected Township Supervisor in her hometown of Doylestown, PA.

She has garnered a number of awards and honors for her work, including being named a member of the 2018 Bush Institute Inaugural Stand to Class; a 2017 Honorary Graduate of the United States Naval Academy; and winner of the 2015 President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Volunteer Service. She has also been honored with the 2014 Joseph D. Helton, Jr. Award for Leadership; the 2013 Hillier (Ignite) Warrior for Warriors Award; and the 2011 Commodore John Barry Distinguished Citizen Award. 

Testimonials

  • Ryan Manion is a tremendous motivational speaker, who convincingly and compassionately touches hearts across the range of Americans from corporate CEOs, to military commanders, to inner city youth.

    FRANK FINELLI
    FRANK FINELLI
    MANAGING DIRECTOR - THE CARLYLE GROUP
  • Ryan is a truly remarkable woman who has made an extraordinary difference in the lives of so many. A matchless leader, a compassionate Gold Star family member, and a boundless servant of others, Ryan has been transcendent in support of our veterans and their families.

    ADMIRAL MIKE MULLEN
    USN (RET.) 17TH CHAIRMAN - JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF
  • Ryan Manion was a tremendous asset as a speaker for our Virtual Leadership Sessions. Her story was compelling, but even more so she was able to engage with the students in a powerful and heartfelt fashion. By speaking from the heart and being full of energy, the students were enthralled and captivated with her message, and everyone who attended left the session inspired and full of hope.

    Al Lattell
    Al Lattell
    Assistant Director of Athletics, Student-Athlete Development and Community Engagement
  • Ryan is a passionate motivational speaker who inspires a broad array of Americans from CEOs to military commanders to inner city youth. I give her my strongest possible endorsement and recommendation.

    Jason McCarthy
    Jason McCarthy
    Founder, GORUCK
  • Ryan’s presentation to our group of women who had experienced unexpected loss was compelling. Her inspiring and courageous words had every person in the room on the edge of her seat. We were hanging on every word, captivated by her story of strength and resilience.

    Nan Lansinger
    Nan Lansinger
    Senior Vice President, Fiduciary Trust International

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