Doctoral Student Bringing Change as Leader of Regional Nonprofit

Mar 31, 2019

By Ryan Clark

When Ryan Allen came to his first day of classes at Xavier, he knew he was in the right place. He saw a blue banner bearing the University motto, All For One, and thought about what those words meant. He thought back to his own dark days and how he came out the other side. 

“It really aligns with the fact that I want to help as many people as possible,” said the 30-year-old Northern Kentucky resident. “It said to me, ‘We’re here for you. We’re all interconnected.’ And for me, that’s what I’m all about.”

Allen just finished his first year in the Educational Leadership doctoral program at Xavier. He says his Xavier classes are helping him to become a better leader, especially as the co-founder and president of Love Must Win, a nonprofit organization that, among other things, sponsors a monthly meeting open to all teens and adults who need a place to share their stories.

“It’s a place we started for those who have mental health issues, because I’ve had them, and I wondered what could’ve helped me when I was younger,” he said. “I needed a support system, one of love and acceptance. I needed to learn how to accept myself, and we help to provide that.”

‘Xavier just made sense’

Allen grew up knowing he was somehow different.

And when it became clear just how he was different, he also realized he had very few people to talk to about it. He questioned his sexual identity, and his life spiraled out of control. He used drugs and alcohol to cope. He developed an anxiety disorder and almost flunked out of college.

Along the way, he fathered a daughter, and he began thinking about the world through her eyes. What if she dealt with similar questions? What if she also felt alone, with no place or no one to turn to?

Four years ago, Allen helped answer that question by starting Love Must Win. But along the way, he also felt a calling. He wanted to enroll and learn at a college that had a deep spirituality to it, a place where the idea of helping others was part of the curriculum.

“Xavier just made sense,” he said. “The Jesuit focus really spoke to me, and I knew this was going to be the right place for me.”

Adding to that was the mentorship of Gail Latta, associate professor in the Leadership Studies doctoral program.

“Ryan exhibits the kind of intellectual curiosity and openness to ideas that challenge preconceived notions we look for in students admitted to the Leadership Studies doctoral program at Xavier,” Latta said. “He offers unique insights from his experience in the non-profit community that integrates his own tacit knowledge with an appreciation for the leadership theory and research he is being exposed to in the program."

“I really think Gail was one of the reasons I stayed here,” Allen said. “She was someone who could make me feel comfortable in this academic environment. She made me feel okay, and even though we’re different—I’m a dog person, she’s a cat person—she’s inspiring in how she allows me to be me, and she says I bring value to classes because I’m me.”

'We need a place, too’

Classmates have found him to be an inspiration.

"Ryan is a natural leader and is also highly intelligent," says classmate Diana Stoppiello. "He is extremely ethical and authentic which comes from an inner strength that not everyone can access."

Now, Allen and Love Must Win are partnering with other non-profits across the region, under the umbrella of Building Bridges, a new group that’s taking on the responsibility of, among other projects, bringing an LGBTQ+ center to Cincinnati.

“There used to be a center in Cincinnati, but not anymore, not solely for LGBTQ+,” he said. “Why is that? We’re trying to bring it back. The city of Dayton has two centers. We need a place, too.”

On certain days you can see Allen and his group downtown, with posters and bullhorn ready, but most likely they're just asking people if they want a hug. Rarely are they turned down.

He wants to expand his influence to assist more people, possibly even to students like himself, who could have used a helping hand back in the day. And he’s using his Xavier education to get himself in position to do just that.

“I feel like this may lead to me teaching at a collegiate level, possibly about leadership, and I’d like to focus on how someone can utilize spirituality to be a more effective leader,” he said. “Or if I could be leading several nonprofits, or working in the department of diversity and inclusion at a university. That would be amazing, too.”

Follow Allen's work at www.thebuildingbridgescenter.com and www.lovemustwin.org.