Ryan Christie
Coordinator, Japanese Exchange Program, Elk Grove High School
Ryan Christie is a high school Japanese teacher and international exchange coordinator whose passion for Japanese culture and language started at a very young age. After majoring in Japanese at the University of Iowa, Ryan joined the JET Program which allowed him to begin his teaching career in the northernmost Japanese town of Wakkanai, Hokkaido. Upon returning to the suburbs of Chicago, he taught English for 10 years at Chicago Futabakai Japanese Day School. After receiving his master's in education from North Park University in Chicago, Ryan enjoyed two years as a Japanese bilingual resource teacher and EL teacher at Whiteley Elementary School in Hoffman Estates before moving to his alma mater of Elk Grove High School six years ago to proudly replace his retiring former Japanese teacher. At Elk Grove High School, Ryan is the coordinator of the Japanese Exchange Program (JXP) in which he also participated as a high school student. He continues to remain engaged with the Japanese education community through the Japanese National Honors Society and the Illinois Association of Teachers of Japanese, of which he served as president from 2019 to 2021.
