About Pam

Born 1957 in Broken Hill, a remote Australian mining town, Pamela Ryan was destined to write and to fly. She studied English literature and psychology at the University of Adelaide, practicing as a psychologist before moving to Austin, Texas in 1985. As an academic, she has lectured at the University of New South Wales and at the University of Texas, where in 1994 she earned her doctorate. Dr. Ryan conducted award-winning research on the psychology of decision-making, which won an international Academy of Management “Best Paper” Award.

In 1998, her focus shifted to public policy and she founded a global research institute, Issues Deliberation Australia / America generating a formidable body of work on Aboriginal reconciliation, Australian republicanism, human rights law, parliamentary reform, the psychology of fear and terror, and Muslim relations. In 2005, she co-founded Psychology Beyond Borders, a pioneering NGO dedicated to the study and relief of the psychosocial impacts on people in natural disasters, acts of terror and war. She chairs the Silverton Foundation, which funds programs to empower disadvantaged people in Africa, Asia, Australia and the United States.

Dr. Ryan is a Research Fellow at both the Universities of Texas and South Australia, and has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate. She lectures at both universities and has authored publications, reports and academic papers, produced documentary films, and delivered public presentations, media interviews and keynote addresses. Magic Carpet Flying, a personal memoir, is her first book with two further books in progress. Dr. Ryan has two daughters and shares her time between Australia and Texas. A sports fanatic, she is also a licensed pilot and loves to fly single engine planes.