Gail Ryan
Board of Trustees
Member
I was a first-generation overnight summer camper for nine years. Frost Valley was the place I was able to be an honest version of myself. I worked as a staff member from 2002-2012, I then worked for YAI and ran their summer camp program in conjunction with FV for 5 years (the MAC program). I stepped away from Frost Valley in 2006 and worked with the Fresh Air Fund. This was between my two Americorps years where I served Philadelphia as a City Year Cops member. While there I fell in love with the youth I worked with and questioned how they could be supported at FV. In 2008 I had the privilege to start a position to begin the work to create a more beloved community, as the Newark Partnership Coordinator.
In 2017, I graduated with my master’s in social work and began working in Newark as a school social worker. I am currently a school social worker in an out of district Emotional Regulation Impairment program. I believe that social and emotional health and nurturing are imperative for all.
I met my husband at Frost Valley as a young staff member, we were married down the road in 2014 and have three children, the first child was born in 2018, the same year I joined the board. I hope that one day they are able to find a space that allows them to feel they can root and attend in their most full form.
It is my goal to live this quote ‘You are only free when you realize you belong no place -you belong everyplace -no pace at all. The price is high. The reward is great.’ Maya Angelou
My work with the Antiracism Task Force is some of my proudest. It is personal and it is purposeful. All spaces have been charged with looking inward and am proud to serve Frost Valley YMCA as I grow along with it. My Frost Valley be a place where the is space for all to belong.
