Ryan is Chief Executive Officer at Creative Commons. He joined the organization in 2014 to define a new strategy and to establish long-term sustainability for CC. Today, CC is implementing its renewed strategy to build a vibrant, usable commons powered by collaboration and gratitude. Since 2014, CC nearly tripled the number of individual donors, and the commons grew to over 1.1 billion licensed works. In early 2016, CC announced a landmark $10M donation from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, supporting its ongoing work and renewed focus.
Prior to joining CC, Ryan was Chief Operating Officer of Mozilla. He also worked as Director of Corporate Communications for the City of Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Games, and was a Senior Advisor to Mayor David Miller in Toronto, where he led the Mayor’s budget policy and initiated Toronto’s Open Data project. Ryan is an experienced campaigner and advocate for social causes, and has advised political campaigns on the local and national levels. Ryan is an avid cyclist and an amateur barista. He lives in Toronto with his daughter.
I joined CC in June of this year, and immediately set out to update our strategy. I spent the summer working with our staff, affiliates, board, partners, and funders to understand the needs and the opportunities, and to plan for 2015 and beyond. Today, we’re focused on three strategic objectives: A vibrant commons. Supporting the … Read More “Build a commons for everyone”
Today, the Knight Foundation announced the selected recipients of its latest Prototype Fund. We’re very proud to be among them, with a new project that probably sounds a bit outside of our normal work to those familiar with CC. Here’s why we’re doing it: When I joined as CEO, I was tasked with imagining the … Read More “Creative Commons named Knight Prototype Fund recipient”
Our Digital Future / OpenMedia.ca / CC BY-NC-SA OpenMedia.ca just released Our Digital Future: A Crowdsourced Agenda for Free Expression. OpenMedia developed the publication through consultations and surveys with many organizations that care about free expression on the internet. It’s organized around three principles: Respect Creators, Prioritize Free Expression, and Embrace Democratic Processes. OpenMedia’s report … Read More “Our Digital Future: New report and agenda for copyright reform”
I’m writing to announce that Creative Commons is closing its office in Mountain View, CA. For most people reading this, the news will hardly come as a surprise. We’ve always been a virtual organization. Although we have a group of staff in the Bay Area, we have full-time staff in six US States and two … Read More “Creative Commons goes (even more) virtual”
EFF / CC BY Today, Creative Commons and over 35 other organizations published an open letter urging negotiators of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to rescind a proposal to extend copyright terms by another 20 years beyond its current, mandatory term. This week, 12 Pacific rim countries are meeting in Ottawa, Canada, to continue secret negotiations … Read More “An Open Letter to TPP Negotiators: Copyright Term Extension Makes No Sense”
Today, we’re opening up a new job posting, for a director of development. This person will be in charge of raising money to support our work – building and maintaining our relationships with foundations, corporations, and individual donors. From the job description: Creative Commons is seeking a Director of Development to lead development on behalf … Read More “New job at CC: Director of development”
Ryan Merkley / Rannie Turingan / CC0 I’m honored to be chosen as CEO of Creative Commons. CC is a giant of the open web, and it’s an organization that I have always believed in and truly admire. I appreciate the confidence shown by the board, and support I have already received from staff and … Read More “Why I joined Creative Commons”