Dara Ryder is Chief Executive Officer of AHEAD, an Irish NGO establish in 1988 which is dedicated to creating inclusive environments for people with disabilities in education and employment. He became CEO in 2020 having previously managed AHEAD’s digital presence and developed a suite of online CPD programmes relating to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and inclusive practice in his role as Digital Media and eLearning Manager there. His research interests include monitoring the participation of students with disabilities in higher education, exploring the learning experiences and desires of students with disabilities, and examining the implementation of UDL in policy and practice.
After graduating from Queens University in 2005, Dara joined Dun Laoghaire College of Further Education as a lecturer, where he became interested in inclusive education when working first-hand with students with disabilities in his classroom. When the opportunity arose in 2008, he joined AHEAD where he has been working ever since on creating inclusive environments in education and employment for people with disabilities.
