{"county":"shelby","description":"","district":"Germantown","districtgroup":"municipality","id":155,"key":"germantown_school_board_position_1","lastchangeby":null,"name":"Ryan Strain","next_election":"2020-11-03","notes":"165","officegroup":"germantown_school_board","partisan":0,"party":"","qualities":"- Policy judgment on a small suburban district within Shelby County \u2014 Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Lakeland, or Millington \u2014 typically several thousand students across a single elementary/middle/high feeder pattern.\n- Budget literacy for both operating and capital budgets, in coordination with the suburban municipality (which provides matching local funds in some configurations).\n- Ability to hire, evaluate, and when necessary replace the superintendent.\n- Constituent relations with parents, teachers, and community members across an actively engaged small district.\n- Willingness to complete the state-required seven hours of annual training through the Tennessee School Boards Association School Board Academy.","quantity":1,"source":null,"state":"TN","term_end":"2028-08-01","term_start":"2024-08-01","term_years":4,"terms":[{"current":0,"description":"","electiondate":"2020-11-01","name":"Ryan Strain","person":{"biography":"Ryan and his wife, Sarah, grew up in Germantown and returned in 2017 to raise their family.  Ryan and Sarah\u2019s primary reason for moving back to Germantown was so they could send their children to Germantown schools.  Currently, they have two sons who attend Dogwood Elementary.  A third son will start kindergarten at Dogwood soon.\n \nRyan attended Dogwood Elementary, Houston Middle, and Houston High (class of 2001).  He graduated from the University of Memphis in 2005 with a degree in history, and then graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2008.  Ryan is a lawyer with a focus on civil litigation, though he has counseled clients on various other matters, as well.\n \nRyan is passionate about serving others and education.  He has received honors from his law firm for his pro bono legal service, and he has been involved with or volunteered for the Dogwood PTO Board, the Dogwood Dads, the City of Germantown\u2019s Historic Commission, Leadership Germantown, the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County Foster Care Review Board, the United Way, and the Memphis Grizzlies Charitable Foundation TEAM Mentoring Program.  He also served on the Board of Directors for Operation Broken Silence, a nonprofit helping to fund a primary and secondary school in Yida Refugee Camp near the border of Sudan and South Sudan.  Ryan is also an active member of First Evangelical Church, where he serves on the Memphis Ministries Team.\n \nRyan served as the Germantown Board of Education's Tennessee Legislative Network representative from December 2020 (shortly after his election to the Board) until December 2022.  Ryan currently serves as Chairman of the Board and as the Board's liaison to the City of Germantown's Education Commission.","firstname":"Ryan","lastname":"Strain","token":"KXgOBRxmOs"},"term_end":"2024-11-01","term_start":"2020-11-01"},{"current":1,"description":null,"electiondate":"2024-08-01","name":"Ryan Strain","person":{"biography":"Ryan and his wife, Sarah, grew up in Germantown and returned in 2017 to raise their family.  Ryan and Sarah\u2019s primary reason for moving back to Germantown was so they could send their children to Germantown schools.  Currently, they have two sons who attend Dogwood Elementary.  A third son will start kindergarten at Dogwood soon.\n \nRyan attended Dogwood Elementary, Houston Middle, and Houston High (class of 2001).  He graduated from the University of Memphis in 2005 with a degree in history, and then graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2008.  Ryan is a lawyer with a focus on civil litigation, though he has counseled clients on various other matters, as well.\n \nRyan is passionate about serving others and education.  He has received honors from his law firm for his pro bono legal service, and he has been involved with or volunteered for the Dogwood PTO Board, the Dogwood Dads, the City of Germantown\u2019s Historic Commission, Leadership Germantown, the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County Foster Care Review Board, the United Way, and the Memphis Grizzlies Charitable Foundation TEAM Mentoring Program.  He also served on the Board of Directors for Operation Broken Silence, a nonprofit helping to fund a primary and secondary school in Yida Refugee Camp near the border of Sudan and South Sudan.  Ryan is also an active member of First Evangelical Church, where he serves on the Memphis Ministries Team.\n \nRyan served as the Germantown Board of Education's Tennessee Legislative Network representative from December 2020 (shortly after his election to the Board) until December 2022.  Ryan currently serves as Chairman of the Board and as the Board's liaison to the City of Germantown's Education Commission.","firstname":"Ryan","lastname":"Strain","token":"KXgOBRxmOs"},"term_end":"2028-08-01","term_start":"2024-08-01"}],"title":"Germantown School Board Position 1","type":"legislative","url":null,"whenchanged":"2026-04-25 19:49:19"}