Global educator to give public lectures, workshop at W&J

Daniel Bryan, a renowned global educator, executive director of the Pachaysana Institute and an instructor at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador, will present two public lectures and a public workshop at Washington & Jefferson College next week.
The events and workshop, which are free and open to the public, are part of the J. Robert Maxwell ’43 Visiting Scholar Series.
“We were lucky to get Mr. Bryan here this semester, during the college’s Integrated Semester on Latin America,” said Kathleen McEvoy, associate professor of English at W&J, and coordinator of Maxwell Series events. “He will be able to provide a highly personal and timely account of modern Latin American culture, politics, and economics.”
Bryan’s first lecture, “A Balancing Act: Comparing Local Realities and Global Interests Between the Ecuadorian Rainforest and the Marcellus Shale Region,” is Monday at 7 p.m. in Room 100 of the Dieter-Porter Life Sciences Building.
On Wednesday, Bryan will present “Rehearsing Change: Finding, Telling, and Transforming the Development Story,” at 7 p.m., also in Room 100 of Dieter-Porter building . He will wrap up his visit on Thursday, with a public workshop entitled “Rehearsing Change: Performing Arts and Development,” at 4 p.m. in Yost Auditorium of the Burnett Center.
The lectures and workshop will provide discussion and insight into international issues including community and economic development, fair trade and education, as well as an exploration of biodiversity in the Amazon, and a comparison of the natural gas industry in Ecuador and Pennsylvania.
“The Monday lecture will focus on issues Bryan has witnessed pertaining to the development of the Ecuadorian Amazon, and he hopes to get a high level of audience participation to draw parallels between what is happening in Ecuador and what is happening with the Marcellus Shale right here in Washington County,” McEvoy said. “His Wednesday and Friday sessions will be on the myriad ways one can tell the story of a region’s development, and this also promises to be relevant to local issues.”
Born and raised in the United States, Bryan’s education and experiences have given him a global perspective on a variety of issues. Bryan received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Tulsa, and a second master’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.
He then served in the Peace Corps, traveling to Ecuador to develop educational initiatives. Here he founded the Quito Eterno Foundation, an internationally-renowned program that educates tourists about the Ecuadorian identity through theatrical workshops. He also founded the Pachaysana Institute, a nonprofit organization which connects local communities with foreigners to facilitate cross-cultural education and community development. Through Pachaysana and USFQ, Bryan developed a study abroad program, “Rehearsing Change: Empowering Locally, Educating Globally,” which integrates students with an Amazonian community, teaching sustainable community projects, social change, and global citizenship.
In addition to his work with the Pachaysana Institute, Bryan also is an adjunct professor of theater at USFQ.