Ryan Priester

Ryan focuses on the Vital Communities portfolio within the Chicago Commitment program.

Prior to joining MacArthur, Ryan served as the Director of Community Programs at the University of Chicago’s Office of Civic Engagement. In that role, Ryan led the work of the Community Programs Accelerator, which supports nonprofits whose work benefits South Side neighborhoods in Chicago. He also designed and implemented the University of Chicago’s Certificate in Nonprofit Management for community leaders across Chicago’s South Side. A native of Chicago’s South Side, Ryan began his career working with youth and families as a community organizer in the New Communities Program Woodlawn. 

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Chicago, where he graduated as a Carnegie-Mellon scholar, and pursued graduate studies at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School in Philosophy of Religion.  He is a 2022 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow and a 2023 Fulcrum Fellow.  

Ryan currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Provident Foundation, Reslience Partners, and the Advisory Boards of Chicago African-Americans in Philanthropy, the Chicago Racial Justice Pooled Fund, and the Truth Racial Healing and Transformation Chicago.