Ryan has been an educator for twenty years. He currently serves as the Menlo School's Director of Learning Resources, a position that allows him to support hundreds of students with unique learning profiles every year. At Menlo, Ryan has also served as a department chair, class dean, admissions officer, and member of the alumni-affairs staff. Ryan has also served as a charter school principal and assistant principal, experiential education program coordinator, and classroom teacher.

Prior to becoming an educator, Ryan lived in Washington, D.C. for several years, where he worked for two congressional committees, former United States Senator John W. Warner, and the Defense Base Closure & Realignment Commission. Ryan holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia and an Ed.M. in school leadership from Harvard.

He has also completed masters coursework at the intersection of education and neuropsychology at Johns Hopkins University. In his free time, Ryan follows his children around the Bay Area's many soccer fields and bucolic parks.