Ryan Sanders

Tennessee native from the mountains of the Cumberland Plateau, I grew up in a three-light town. Of the three lights, one never worked and one always blinked yellow. The third light should've been a four-way stop. It slowed up the "traffic."

Serving as a student minister through college, I studied Psychology, Religion, and Mental Health. Oh, and I met Tonia.

As God would have it, we were in the same two religion courses in the spring semester of 2002. We became enchanted with one another. Well, Tonia became enchanted with my church history and comparative religions work. We wed in October of 2003.

Three short years later Princess Isabella was born (2006). On a hot day in May '09, I was given a paper with "Master of Divinity" on the lawn at The Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. On that sunny day, Tonia was also on the lawn, but was really on bed-rest with our second daughter, Princess Gabriella, who would join our family September 2009.

From late 2009 to early 2011, I studied under Mr. Chuck Colson in residency including trips from Nashville, TN to Washington, DC. Our family moved from our Tennessee home to DC in summer of 2010.

We lived and worked in Nashville for over a decade. I worked in publishing as a writer and editor at LifeWay. I transitioned from Tennessee to DC working as a Preschool Chaplain and in sales at a small tech company called Apple, Inc.

In 2011, I became a writer in the executive office at Prison Fellowship. I sat across from Mr. Colson's glass office from January 2011 until his passing in May '12. From my chair, I watched (and eavesdropped) on executive meetings Mr. Colson conducted. I learned much about leadership and life.

After Mr. Colson's memorial, I became Social Media Manager at National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI) in MD. I am now the Communications and Cause Marketing Manager for NFI.

I love psychology, religion and marketing. I don't skip on my morning coffee. Photographs inspires me; as does music, especially the sad stuff. One day I'll write a sad country song. When I do, I'll drive to Nashville, have coffee with friends, drive a few miles south and meet my parents. We'll cook breakfast for dinner and I'll rest on "the Mountain."