William Ryerson, MPhil

Bill Ryerson founded Population Media Center in 1998 on a simple, radical conviction: that stories — told with rigor and grounded in evidence — can change what people believe is possible for their own lives. He built PMC into an organization sharing stories that millions of people came to love and learn from. The characters modeled new possibilities around family planning, reproductive health, and stopping violence against women and girls.

Bill’s career in reproductive health began on August 31, 1971, his first day at Population Institute. Fifty-five years later, on August 31, 2026, he retired from PMC, handing leadership to President and CEO Margot Fahnestock while remaining PMC’s founder and one of its most devoted champions.

Before founding PMC, Bill served as Executive Vice President of Population Communications International, Associate Director of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Development Director of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Director of the Population Institute’s Youth and Student Division, where his career in reproductive health began. He has appeared on media outlets such as CNN, PBS, and BBC and he continues to tell the PMC story as a volunteer, giving presentations for civic groups, retirement communities, and college campuses.