John Ryan

John Ryan, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, is an awarding-winning journalist with 20 years of experience in new media, print and film covering complex matters related to the criminal and civil justice systems, the law and business, and human rights and global justice issues. John runs Lawdragon’s day-to-day operations, overseeing all online and magazine content, website development and company branding. He also provides regular coverage from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on the military commissions against accused terrorists, including the case against the five alleged plotters of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In 2019, he won a New York Press Club Award in Journalism for his coverage of the Sept. 11 case and was a Finalist in 2021 for Best News Reporting by the Society of Professional Journalist’s New York Chapter (The Deadline Club.)

Prior to joining Lawdragon, John was a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. The Los Angeles Press Club named him a “Print Journalist of the Year Finalist” all three years between 2003 and 2005 for his coverage of high-profile national issues, such as the war on terror, the drug war, political corruption, corporate fraud, film and music piracy and disparities in criminal sentencing, among many others. He also twice won the Los Angeles Press Club’s award for “Best Magazine Feature,” once for his coverage of a pro bono effort to overturn a murder sentence and once for his story on a major religious-discrimination dispute. The Press Club awarded him a “Best News Feature, Runner Up” distinction for his feature story on the legal-defense efforts on behalf of accused terrorists Zacarias Moussaoui and Yaser Hamdi.

John moved to New York in 2008 to lead Lawdragon’s east coast editorial outreach and eventual relocation. He has traveled to South Africa, The Hague, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Rwanda to research how post-conflict societies forge accountability mechanisms for war crimes and other human rights abuses. Prior to entering journalism, John worked as a research fellow for a major arms control lobbying group in Washington, D.C. and as a researcher for a policy consulting firm. He has a MA in human rights studies from New York University and a BA from Colby College in Waterville, Maine.