Ryan Downey, PhD

I’m passionate about helping people. I derive the most joy working at the triple-point of assessment, technology, and product, helping others overcome the obstacles that prevent them from achieving professional or academic goals. I'm an entrepreneurial product leader with over 14 years of experience building teams and developing innovative, award-winning assessment products. As a “recovering academic”, I like to apply what I've learned from cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychology, and psycholinguistics, to tackle tricky assessment problems. I've designed empirical studies, managed large scale assessment programs, authored and edited journal articles, and delivered presentations at conferences around the world. I've also coauthored two handbook chapters on the use of AI/ML in assessment. I'm particularly interested in developing innovative, (relatively) authentic assessment products that enable machine scoring of "higher-order" skills and competencies, like productive language. In my present incarnation, I'm helping medical students and international medical graduates develop a strategic approach to their journey to becoming practicing physicians in the US, with a specific focus on helping them prepare for their medical licensing exams like the highest-performing versions of themselves. Specialties: EdTech, product management, product development, product lifecycle, language education and assessment, K-12 assessment, equity in education, efficacy, AI/ML in assessment, test performance coaching, mentorship