Byeongju Ryu

Byeongju Ryu (he/him) is a PhD candidate and adjunct faculty member at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. Byeongju completed his undergraduate studies in health administration and social welfare in South Korea and received his MSW from the Brown School. His research broadly centers on productive engagement in later life, with a focus on volunteer programs and interventions that engage adults in mid- and later life. He is interested in how community and institutional environments shape engagement, health, and well-being in later life.

Byeongju previously worked as a social worker at a nonprofit social service organization in South Korea. As a program director, he received government and foundation grants to develop, implement, and evaluate community-based programs that promote civic engagement and healthy behaviors in later life, particularly among older adults with fewer socioeconomic resources or functional limitations. He also spent several years as a research coordinator for community-engaged projects at the Brown School, where he coordinated data collection and communication locally and internationally. Byeongju teaches Social Work Practice in Organizations & Communities at the Brown School.