Founder & Principal (Oak Brook, IL)
Ryan D. Butt serves as the CEO & Managing Partner of The Constaré® Group, LLC, a mission-based social venture consultancy focused on nonprofit sustainability and innovation (based in Oak Brook, Illinois. For more than 20 years, Ryan has led Constaré’s mission to design, launch, and scale innovative ventures at the intersection of nonprofit impact and for-profit sustainability. His work draws on decades of experience across the nonprofit, higher education, and international development sectors—helping mission-driven organizations turn strategy into sustainable enterprise.
Constaré was born from Ryan’s early career experiences—first working with street-connected youth in Kenya, and later serving in a senior leadership role for a regional nonprofit in Indiana—where he began building replicable social enterprise frameworks. These formative experiences inspired him and a group of peers to formally launch Constaré in 2004, evolving the firm into a respected advisor for domestic and international NGOs, faith-based networks, and public-private initiatives.
In his leadership at Constaré, Ryan has:
Advised NGOs on building earned-revenue models that align with their missions
Partnered with foundations and ministries to design capacity-building ventures
Secured and managed global consulting engagements across three continents
Led teams in developing social entrepreneurship labs, feasibility studies, and fiscally sustainable programming in higher education, health care, and community development
Presented nationally and internationally on social venture incubation, sustainability strategy, and cross-sector innovation
Beyond his consulting work, Ryan continues to contribute to the academic field as a seasoned higher education leader, currently serving as Dean of the College of Business and Graduate School of Management at Lewis University, where he launched a regionally recognized business incubator, secured program accreditations, and embedded real-world entrepreneurial experiences into academic programs.
Ryan holds a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) from DePaul University, where his research focused on entrepreneurial orientation among veterans and first-generation college students. He also earned a Juris Doctor (JD) from Valparaiso University School of Law, with concentrations in nonprofit, business, and international law, and both a BA in Government and African/African-American Studies and a Master of Science in Administration from the University of Notre Dame.
A frequent speaker and board advisor, Ryan remains committed to supporting organizations and leaders who seek to blend mission with market—and to building ventures that matter.