Ryan has been with the ACLU of Wisconsin since October 2023.
“[T]he arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
As Legal Director, Ryan leads the organization's work to vindicate individual rights through impact litigation in the state and federal courts, investigate government action, and advocate for vulnerable populations.
Ryan is most passionate about the ACLU's work to guarantee equitable access to the ballot box through its voting rights and Election Protection work, its work to guarantee racial and economic justice, disability justice, and its work to ensure the promises of the Bill of Rights through its First Amendment and policing work.
Ryan comes to the ACLU of Wisconsin by way of Texas where he previously had a focus on community and civil rights issues for many years. Immediately prior to joining our team, Ryan was Managing Attorney for the San Antonio Legal Services Association where he worked on housing and homelessness and disability issues, and prior to that, was Senior Staff Attorney in the Voting Rights Program at the Texas Civil Rights Project, leading its San Antonio office and bringing significant impact litigation across the state. Ryan is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the St. Mary's University School of Law, and his public interest work has previously earned him recognition on the ABA's list of 40 young lawyers "On the Rise" across the country in 2018, and the "Outstanding Young Lawyer Award" from the Texas Young Lawyers Association in 2021, among others.