Augusta, GA
FBI presents leadership award to John Ryan for #StrongAugusta
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – John Ryan, the coordinator for the Office of Critical Event Preparedness & Response at Augusta University, was awarded the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Director’s Community Leadership Award on Thursday, July 2, 2026.
Ryan was recognized for his work with the #StrongAugusta initiative. It started six years ago as a way to train law enforcement agencies how to respond to active shooter situations.
“What we’re doing as for as fostering a community safety initiative which is really at the highest level of what “Strong Augusta” is, is a community safety effort and what it means is it’s not falling on deaf ears,” Ryan said.
The FBI said the award recognizes people who go above and beyond to support the community to encourage safety.
“It highlights people in the community that go above and beyond to support their community in a leadership role to try to enhance education, crime prevention, social justice,” said Brian A. Osden, an assistant special agent in charge at the FBI’s Atlanta division.
Photojournalist credit: Gary Hipps