Sally Ryman joined the Ph.D. program after eight years in a community-based health advocacy organization managing programs, supervising care coordinators, and working to improve health equity across Colorado and especially in rural, mountain communities.

They also spent just over year providing weekend on-call crisis mental health services in rural Colorado and five months as a home health social worker in rural North Carolina. Prior to a career in human services, Sally spent over ten years in publishing, producing medical journals and political science textbooks and reference books.