Ryan Pote is a twelve-year veteran Navy helicopter pilot who was part of a joint interagency special operations task force, deployed throughout Central and South America. He was medically separated after sustaining injuries during an emergency landing. Ryan currently works for the Department of Defense. Before the Navy, he worked as a scuba diving instructor in Hawaii and as a microbiology lab tech conducting algae-biofuels research. He holds a Masters degree in History from Ashland University. He lives with his wife and children in New England.