neiswender
ABOUT
Ryan Neiswender
speaker athlete
My name is Ryan Neiswender and I am a Paralympic Gold Medalist, World Champion, corporate keynote speaker, and business leader who has found his passion by helping teams and organizations reach their untapped potential. Originally from Pennsylvania, I was born with a disability called Arthrogryposis which affected the development of my quadricep muscles in my legs. In 2005, I was introduced to the game of wheelchair basketball and as a senior in high school made Team USA! I committed to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to play Division I wheelchair basketball where I was a 4-Time All-American and met my beautiful wife, Lauren!
After graduating college, I competed professionally in Hamburg, Germany while I finished my MBA at the Keller Graduate School of Management. I currently work at Visa Inc. as a Sport Sponsorship Marketing Manager.
I am a man of faith, love spending time with my family and my goal is to help people and organizations around the world maximize their untapped potential by leveraging my experiences at the pinnacle of sport. I have seen people inadvertently try to put limits on what they believe is possible for me because of my “disability.” We define what is possible and belief is the catalyst for growth.
Let’s connect!
Quick facts
Born May 1994
Hometown: Lebanon, Pa
2023 IWBF World Champion
2020 Tokyo Paralympic Gold Medalist
2019 Para Pan American Games Gold Medalist
2013 & 2017 Copa America Games Gold Medalist
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 4-Time All-American
Keller Graduate School of Management - Master of Business Administration
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign – Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology