James Tim Ryan has served on the South Colonie Board of Education since 1994. His term expires on June 30, 2024. He was elected to the Colonie Central High School Hall of Fame in 2016.
As a longtime member/officer of the South Colonie Board of Education and as an activist in local youth athletics and organizations, Ryan – Colonie Central High School Class of 1966 – has spent countless hours dedicated to the children of Colonie.
First elected to the Board of Education in 1994, Ryan continues in that role today after more than two decades in the governance of South Colonie’s approximately 5,000 public school children. He served as school board President for 12 years (1998-2001), (2005-2009), and (2013-2015), and has been chair and/or member of numerous school board committees.
These committees include Academic Achievement, Accountability and Board Operations, Audit and Finance, Communications, Facilities, Graduation/Hall of Fame, Information Technology, Policy, Strategic Planning, and Transportation. During the 1990s he served on former Superintendent Dr. Thomas Brown’s Shared Decision Making Committee, which brought more parents and community involvement to the district.
He has also served as school board liaison for Town of Colonie Planning and Labor Management. He has made numerous presentations at the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) and National School Board Association (NSBA) conventions.
Ryan has also been involved in a variety of activities as a member of the greater Colonie community. This includes serving as an usher, lector and Eucharist Minister (1990-present) at Christ Our Light (St. Francis de Sales) Church, Little League and Babe Ruth coach (1989-1993), coach, manager, and Financial Director of the West Albany Athletic Association (1980s-1990s), Scoutmaster (1988-1990) for Cub Scout Pack 90, Colonie Central High School Basketball Booster Club President (1993-1996), member and Booster Club President of Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs (2002), and the Albany-Colonie Yankees (1994), and Booster Club member of the Albany River Rats (1994-2000). He has also assisted in the yearly collection and distribution of winter clothing items for area needy.
Ryan is a 1970 graduate of Siena College with bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He worked in New York State government for 35 years, starting with the Commission for the Blind and Visual Handicapped, teaching visually impaired individuals business and independent life skills. He went on to manage and administer several statewide programs to help low income families and the aged, including Food Stamp Outreach, HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program), and EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit Program). He retired from state government in 2005.
He and his wife, Deborah, have three children, all Colonie Central High School graduates.