Ryan Lafferty

Ryan Lafferty is an accomplished Senior Service Designer at Steampunk, Inc. since July 2023 and Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Fusion Innovation Group where innovative marketing strategies are developed using design thinking methodologies. In academia, Ryan serves as a Collaborative Design Professor at Kendall College of Art and Design and as a Professor at Grand Valley State University's Frederik Meijer Honors College, specializing in design thinking for social innovation. Previously, Ryan held positions including Certified Innovation Mentor Program faculty at the University of Notre Dame and Chief Storyteller at Lafferty Communications and Marketing, emphasizing creativity and problem-solving. Ryan's extensive background also includes roles in communications and marketing management at Spectrum Health, Memorial Hospital, the American Heart Association, and the YMCA. Educational credentials include a Master of Science in Communications Management from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations/Business from Washburn University.