Ryan served in the United States Army as a military intelligence officer from 2004 to 2009, including two tours in Iraq.[7] From 2009 to 2011, he worked as the deputy director of Berico Technologies, as a subcontractor for Palantir Technologies in Afghanistan.[7] He co-founded Praescient Analytics, a software company, in 2011. From 2015 to 2017, he was a senior vice president of Dataminr, an artificial intelligence platform. In 2018 and 2019, Ryan was a senior adviser at New Politics.[8]
Ulster County executive (2019–2022)
In February 2019, Ulster County Executive Mike Hein resigned to take a position in New York GovernorAndrew Cuomo's administration. On April 30, Ryan defeated Republican nominee Jack Hayes in the special election to succeed Hein;[9] he took office on June 7, 2019. He became the second executive of Ulster County since it adopted a county charter in 2008.[10] In November 2019, he defeated Hayes in a rematch to win a full four-year term as county executive.[11]
As county executive, Ryan piloted a universal basic income program, wherein 100 families in the county received $500 per month.[12][13] He also enacted several environmental protections in Ulster County, committing to fully transition the operations of the county government to renewable energy by 2030 and partnering with SUNY Ulster to promote green energy jobs.[12]
On September 9, 2022, Ryan stepped down as Ulster County Executive. The deputy county executive, Johanna Contreras, was sworn in as acting county executive that day.[16]
After Delgado resigned from Congress on May 25, 2022, to become lieutenant governor of New York, Ryan announced that he would run in the special election to succeed Delgado.[1] Ryan was chosen as the Democratic nominee on June 9 at a meeting of Democratic county party chairs.[18]
In the August 23 special election, Ryan faced the Republican nominee and Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro. Ryan was seen as the underdog as every poll had him trailing Molinaro, and many believed that President Joe Biden's unpopularity would hinder Democrats in the swing district. Ryan narrowly defeated Molinaro by 2,858 votes, 51.1%–48.8%,[19] which was considered an upset. He outperformed Biden's 2020 margin in the district by 0.8%. In explaining his victory, political observers noted that Ryan campaigned strongly in favor of protecting abortion rights in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.[20] His victory was attributed to college-educated voters', particularly women's, support for abortion rights.[4][21]
In November 2022, Ryan contested the state's 18th district, which was changed from its previous configuration after redistricting.[1][4] On the same day as his special election victory in the 19th district, Ryan won the Democratic nomination for the regular election in the 18th district.[4] He defeated Republican nominee Colin Schmitt[23] in the general election.[24]
Tenure
On February 1, 2023, Ryan was among twelve Democrats to vote for a resolution to end COVID-19 national emergency.[25][26]
Ryan is a staunch opponent of congestion pricing in the most congested parts of Manhattan.[27]
Ryan was born and raised in Kingston, New York, where he lives with his wife, Rebecca Ryan (née Grusky), and two children. He was previously married and divorced.[31] His grandfather served on the Kingston City Council.[32]