Alumnus of the year: David Ryder

Seattle photographer and filmmaker David Ryder, who received a Master of Arts in Cultural Studies (MACS) in 2011, has been recognized with a 2020 University of Washington Bothell Alumnus of the Year Award. In the highly competitive realm of freelance photojournalism, Ryder’s skill and hard work over the last 15-plus years also has earned him recognition and commercial success with an impressive list of media outlets.

Ryder credits his success, in part, to MACS, which gave him space to “think about what I was doing and reflect on doing it in a more meaningful and ethical way, thinking about all the different ways power intersects with journalism, photography and using someone’s image.”