Ryan McCollum equips professionals and organizations with practical tools for resilience, emotional intelligence, and leadership under pressure. Through the Institute for Resilient Leaders™, he develops and teaches professional education designed to help leaders navigate complex human challenges while maintaining clarity, accountability, and professional integrity. His work focuses on helping professionals reconnect with a grounded sense of hope—the ability to identify meaningful goals, recognize viable pathways forward, and exercise agency in demanding environments.
Areas of focus include:
Resilience and stress adaptation in leadership
Emotional intelligence and relational leadership
Second-Wave Positive Psychology
Hope-centered leadership development
Strengths-based behavioral approaches
Meaning-making and recovery from adversity
• Academic Advisor
• Chaplain
• Educator
Ryan is the founder of Focused Pathways® and the Institute for Resilient Leaders™, where he researches and develops educational training on resilience, emotional intelligence, meaning-making, and hope-centered leadership.
His professional background spans military service, healthcare, and pastoral ministry. McCollum served as a U.S. Army Chaplain supporting a 746-member battalion, providing counseling, crisis response, and leadership support for Soldiers and their families while collaborating with embedded behavioral health clinics.
Earlier in his military career he served as a Practical Nursing Specialist and Medical Non-Commissioned Officer responsible for healthcare readiness and training, supervising healthcare personnel and training more than 80 combat lifesavers in emergency response.
In pastoral ministry he served as Associate Pastor and Interim Pastor for a congregation of more than 400 members, leading the church through shutdown and relaunch during the COVID-19 crisis while maintaining pastoral care and organizational continuity.
Across these roles he repeatedly observed that leaders were often the people others turned to for support, yet they themselves had few places to turn. His work now focuses on addressing that gap.
Education
Master of Divinity (MDiv), Andrews University
Bachelor of Arts in Religion, Southern Adventist University
Practical Nursing Specialist (Licensed Practical Nurse ), U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School
Professional Affiliations
Vanguard Ministries — Ministerial Ordination
Prepare-Enrich — Facilitator Trainer, Marriage Support
PSY 110 | Adapting with Resilience™
FP20241220
Issued
2024-12-20
Certified to Teach, Validated by CPDSO
PSY 120 | Adapting with Emotional Intelligence™
FP20251101
Issued
2025-11-01
Certified to Teach, Validated by CPDSO