Ryan Pakebusch is the Associate Director of the Yale Young African Scholars (YYAS) program and a Lecturer in Education Studies. As a researcher and practitioner, his primary focuses are international education policy, global higher education, teacher professional development, as well as educational equity & access.
He teaches the Education Studies seminar EDST 245 “Designing and Evaluating Educational Interventions in the Global South”.
Additionally, Ryan currently serves on the Training and Mentorship sub-Committee of the Africa-wide HALI Access Network, which aims to train educators to support students applying to global universities, and the Yale-wide working committee for the Through the Eyes of She, which focuses on gender equality and equity in Africa.
Prior to joining Yale, Ryan lived and worked in East Africa (Somaliland and Kenya) for five years. In that time he was a classroom teacher (English, History, Global Politics, and Visual Arts), college counselor, researcher, and consultant to NGOs and foreign governments. His writings on education have been published by organizations such as UNESCO, the Center for Global Development, the Institute for State Effectiveness, and Harvard University. He has also previously taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Ryan earned a dual-degree in Government and Communication Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master’s in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.