Barbara Ryan
Secretariat Director
GEO
Switzerland

Biography
Barbara J. Ryan is Secretariat Director - Intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations located in Geneva, Switzerland. In this capacity, she leads the Secretariat in coordinating the activities of nearly 90 Member States and 50 Participating Organizations who are striving to integrate Earth observations so that informed decisions can be made across nine Societal Benefit Areas including agriculture, biodiversity, climate, ecosystems, energy, disasters, health, water and weather. Prior to this, she was the Director of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Space Programme. Before joining WMO in October 2008, she was the Associate Director for Geography at the U.S. Geological Survey in Virginia. As the 2007 Chair of the international Committee on Earth Observation Satellites she led the space-agency response to the Global Climate Observing System satellite requirements for sustained measurement of the GCOS Essential Climate Variables. She holds a Bachelor´s degree in Geology from the State University of New York at Cortland, a Master´s degree in Geography from the University of Denver, and a Master´s degree in Civil Engineering from Stanford University.