Ryanne Pilgeram

Ryanne Pilgeram’s, PhD, career as a rural sociologist has focused on envisioning equitable, thriving rural communities. She worked as a professor at the University of Idaho for over a decade before moving to a nonprofit organization focused on the intersection of public land conservation and rural communities in transition. She is the author of numerous publications, most recently a book, Pushed Out, which examines the structural causes of inequality in rural communities.  

Ryanne has deep connections to Idaho and the American West. She grew up in a ranching family and was raised in Western Montana and North Idaho where she spent many summers working on a tour train in Sandpoint and as a tour guide in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. Ryanne has lived in Moscow since 2010 and she is raising three children with her husband, Russ. She spends her time exploring the outdoors with her family, gardening, and writing about the places and people she loves.