Board of Directors

Amanda Ryan

Amanda holds a B.S. in Social Policy from Northwestern University. Amanda spent 15 years in the corporate world before turning her full attention to raising a family and launching Blaze School with the intent to follow with a boarding program, Blaze Kids Academy.

Amanda has had a life-long commitment to service in her community. Her previous nonprofit experience includes administration, program development, fundraising, and grant writing efforts. Amanda’s Board experience has been centered on under-resourced youth, having previously served as both Board Member and Board Chair for Center for Independent Futures (Evanston, IL), Metropolitan Family Services Metro Board (Chicago, IL), and Boys & Girls Clubs of Malibu (Malibu, CA). Her hands-on volunteer experience with local nonprofits is extensive. Additionally, Amanda has led service learning initiatives in her children’s schools, partnering with local nonprofits to bring service learning to even the youngest of learners.

Knowing first-hand both the benefits and challenges of growing up in a small rural community, it has long been a dream of Amanda’s to launch Blaze School and Blaze Kids Academy. She is proud to serve as Blaze’s Chief Trail Blazer (a.k.a. Executive Director) bringing this dream to life!

Jack Ryan

Jack worked at Casa Juan Diego (Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House) upon graduation from Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School. Casa Juan Diego served immigrant Central American families at the Mexico-Texas border. He then joined Goldman Sachs where he became a Partner in the Investment Banking Division. In 2000 he retired from Goldman Sachs to teach high school at Hales Franciscan High School in the inner-city of Chicago, where he taught for three years. Jack launched REX in 2014, whose social mission is to build homes and schools for families living in extreme poverty and to help support Blaze School and Blaze Kids Academy in creating homes and access to quality education for children who have lost access to their parents.

Dan McKenna

Dan McKenna comes to Blaze from Neenah, WI where he serves as superintendent of St. Mary Catholic Schools, a five-school system serving 940 students. Previously, Dan was Head of School at St. Gabriel’s Catholic School in Austin, Texas, serving 400 students from ages 4-14. Dan is a graduate of Marquette University and Loyola University. He started his career as a middle school teacher at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Chicago. He went on to teach Latin at Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary High School where he was appointed Dean of Students. In 2008, Dan was appointed Principal of St. Francis Xavier School in Wilmette, IL. Dan left St. Francis Xavier in 2013 to join St. Gabriel’s.

Besides his work in education, Dan is a supporter of Catholic Extension, a non-profit organization that supports the needs of Catholics in the most under-resourced regions of the United States. He is a board member of Aspiro, a non-profit organization in Green Bay dedicated to helping people with disabilities lead their best lives. He is also a former board member of the Katelle Foundation in Austin, TX and of the Independent School Association of the Southwest (ISASW).