Ryan Durkopp - Guadeloupe Program Director
Ryan Durkopp joined the VISIONS team in 2004 as a staff member in Guadeloupe. Born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, Ryan is an avid runner, hiker, and mountain biker. He was initially exposed to the French language when he spent a year in Cameroon as a seventh-grader. Ryan spent 1999-2001 as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guinea, West Africa, where he met his wife and current VISIONS Guadeloupe team member, Annie. They lived and worked in rural villages among the Mande where Ryan taught math and AIDS education and Annie organized and offered health and AIDS-prevention education and trained health workers in disease prevention. In addition to West Africa, his passion for cross-cultural contact has led Ryan to India, Egypt, Europe, and Central America. Ryan holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the College of Idaho. He is currently pursing a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology at the University of Pittsburgh where he participates in an Indonesian gong ensemble. Ryan's favorite pastimes include cooking, playing the guitar, spending time with his wife and their dog and cat, and rooting for the Steelers.
In May 2009 Ryan (and his wife, Annie, VISIONS Guadeloupe co-director) returned to Africa for a month, Ryan to Guinea for pre-dissertation research and Annie to Cameroon to do HIV/AIDS education. Both Ryan and Annie will return to Africa after VISIONS Guadeloupe via a University of Pittsburgh Fellowship for Ryan and The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship for Annie.