Under Ryan’s leadership, millions of satellite images and other Earth observation data have been made available publicly at no charge, allowing scientists, planners, and policy makers to make better-informed decisions on problems that transcend political boundaries. Her career-work has addressed critical issues in agriculture, climate change, sustainable development, and water.
Barbara’s career began in 1974 when she joined the United States Geological Survey (USGS), an organization in which she spent the next 34 years. From 2008 to 2012, she was Director of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Space Programme, and from 2012 to 2018, Ryan was the Secretariat Director of the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) in Geneva, Switzerland. In January of 2021, Barbara became the second Executive Director of the World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC), a not-for-profit trade association of private-sector companies working in the geospatial and Earth observation sectors. Ryan retired from WGIC at the end of 2023.
Ryan has served as chair of the international Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS); awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from her alma mater, the State University of New York at Cortland; named an Honorary Fellow of the American Geographical Society, and in 2017 she was one of 10 global Leaders to be named to the Geospatial World Forum’s Hall of Fame. She continues to serve on several international advisory committees for remote sensing, space technologies, and Earth observations, including the Cyprus-based, Eratosthenes Center of Excellence.