Areas of Expertise: Endangered Species Act, federal administrative law and litigation

Ryan works at Defenders to defend and strengthen the Endangered Species Act, seeking to obtain and strengthen protections for imperiled species and to fight back efforts to undermine those same protections for our nation’s most imperiled wildlife. Before joining Defenders in 2026, Ryan served as a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity for over nine years. Prior to that, Ryan worked for Earthrise Law Center, Lewis & Clark Law School’s premier environmental litigation clinic. Ryan earned a J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School, graduating cum laude with a certificate in Environmental and Natural Resource Law. He was also the Symposium Editor for Environmental Law, a member of the Cornelius Honor Society, and received the Environmental and Natural Resources Leadership Award as well as recognition in the Pro Bono Honors Program. Before law school, Ryan received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz.