We’re thrilled to welcome 95-year-old Grandma Joy and her grandson Brad Ryan to Pioneers of the Possible! Sunniva first met them all the way down in Antarctica in December 2025, where their joy, courage, and shared curiosity lit up the deck of their small expedition ship. Together they’ve visited every U.S. National Park and just about every continent on Earth—proving that adventure has no age limit and that the bonds between generations are some of the strongest forces on the planet.
Dr. Brad Ryan (he/him) is an avid outdoorsman and world traveler from southeastern Ohio. In May 2023, he completed his goal of visiting all 63 U.S. National Parks alongside his 93-year-old Grandma Joy, who broke a world record as the oldest person in the world to complete the circuit. The intergenerational duo is currently working towards a new goal to visit every continent in the world, and are well on their way, with recent trips to Samoa, Kenya, Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands, Chile, Argentina, Antarctica, and Iceland completed.
A wildlife veterinarian by training, Brad has worked with cheetahs in Namibia, spotted hyenas in South Africa, Asian elephants in Thailand, among others. In his current profesional role, Brad travels the country educating veterinarians about emerging infectious diseases and advances in diagnostic screening in veterinary medicine. He is a keynote speaker with a passion for mental health advocacy and promoting the healing powers of intergenerational connection.
Brad recently finished writing his first book, Grandma Joy and Me: A Journey of Healing — One National Park at a Time, which will be published by Simon & Schuster on June 16, 2026.
