Ryan McElhinney brings more than a decade of experience in relationship building, strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and advocacy to his new role with the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Most recently, Ryan served as a section manager with the California Lawyers Association. Before that, he spent more than 10 years with the Community College League of California, working closely with institutional leaders, elected officials, and community partners across the state.
At WSU, Ryan was drawn to the opportunity to work more closely with a single institution and the people who make its work possible. His goal is to help bring people together around the college’s education and research programs and the ways they improve lives for both animals and humans.
What drew you to WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine?
I was drawn to the college because it touches everything I care about: education, research, and community. For many years, I worked on public policy initiatives from a statewide perspective. While that work was fulfilling, I was excited by the chance to engage more closely with a single institution at the campus level — working directly with students, faculty, donors, and friends of the college every day, and helping bring them together around research and programs that improve lives, both animal and human.
What is your area of expertise?
My expertise is in relationship building, strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and advocacy. Throughout my career, I’ve worked to connect institutions with the people who can help them grow — alumni, donors, elected officials, and community partners. It is my job to identify the common interests or goals of these groups and find ways that we can all support each other.
What drew you into this area?
I’ve always loved watching communities come together around a shared goal — whether it’s neighbors rallying around a cause or teachers going the extra mile because they believe in a student’s potential.
I’ve watched that kind of effort translate directly into funding that opened doors to higher education for students who needed it most. I’ve also seen the same pattern in research: work that starts in a lab or classroom, but ultimately serves the public good far beyond the walls it was created in.
What’s something most people don’t know about you?
Most people don’t know I’m a serious library power-user — I usually have around 20 books checked out at once, ranging from history to sci-fi to anything else that catches my eye. Some people have a coffee habit; I have a library habit.