Ryan Martin is an Associate Regional Editor for Patch.com in St. Louis.

Ryan started pursuing a career in journalism because he loves writing, but he stayed with it because he loves people. He grew up in Goreville, Ill., a town with a population of 800 people southeast of St. Louis.

After earning his associate's degree from a local community college, Ryan continued his coursework at the University of Missouri. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism with an emphasis in converged media in May 2010. He's currently pursuing an MBA at Washington University in St. Louis.

Ryan started working for Patch in August 2010, when he began the process of launching Maplewood-Brentwood Patch, the first St. Louis-area Patch site. That site went live in October 2010.

Ryan also has experience working as a multimedia intern for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and as a city and county government reporter for the Columbia Missourian.

Ryan loves to read fantasy novels, play Ultimate Frisbee and watch sports. He lives in Maplewood with his girlfriend Gwen and their two dogs.

Twitter: @ryanmartin87
Email: ryan.martin@patch.com
Phone: 314-943-2134
Hometown: Goreville, Illinois
Birthday: July 8

Your Beliefs
At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.

Politics 
My conservative family thinks I'm too liberal, but my liberal friends think I'm too conservative. I'd say I'm somewhere in the middle, teetering one way or the other, depending on the issue. 

Religion
I grew up in the Methodist Church and I'm still a practicing Christian. I love my faith and its impact on my life, and I fully respect your choice to follow a religion — regardless if it's Christianity or something else — or  your choice to not follow one.