Ryan Humphrey is currently undertaking a PhD at York St John exploring how the concepts of ownership, empowerment and transformation are being used within community music discourse. Prior to this, Ryan completed a masters by research that explored the impact that music making had for looked after children at York St John. Outside of his university career Ryan also works as a community musician delivering a range of music making workshops ranging from early years sessions to sessions working with adults over 55-year of age. He has a passion for delivering workshops with children facing challenging circumstances and has led on several projects working with children in the care system and children living with special educational needs.