Teaching
& Speaking
For the past decade, I’ve had the great joy of teaching students through The City University of New York in various capacities including serving as a senior writing instructor at John Jay College’s Institute for Justice and Opportunity where I worked with justice-impacted students.
I also worked as an adjunct assistant professor of English at John Jay College and City College where I taught students newly admitted to CUNY School of Medicine, a highly selective, accelerated B.S./M.D program with a mission to increase the number of physicians of African-American, Latinx, and other ethnic backgrounds who have been historically underrepresented in the medical profession.
At City College, I developed a Women in Science Writing speaker series and collaborated with a team of educators on an Open Educational Resource (OER) website for a science writing course.
I’ve served as a workshop facilitator, lead instructor and event host for special programs at The Bridge, Harlem Children’s Zone, New York Public Library, and Covenant House, and Common Ground (Andrew’s House).
I’ve spoken about narrative medicine, creative writing for social healing, public writing, the art of the essay, and freelance journalism for the following institutions:
Weill Cornell/New York Presbyterian
Columbia School of Social Work
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
M.F.A program and M.A in Language and Literary Program at City College
At the height of the pandemic, I developed a virtual workshop on writing about anger for Introspective Spaces, an organization serving women in healthcare.
“It is very clear that Professor Ryder loves teaching and really cares for her students. She ensures that the lessons are fun for us and often gives us our own choice about what we'd like to learn. She is always very enthusiastic and makes her students feel welcomed in the classroom.”
Student at City College
“Professor Ryder is an amazing instructor! She is so willing and eager to work with students and help them strive for their best work. I would be privileged to have another instructor like her in the future.”
Student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice