Evan Maureen Ryan (born April 18, 1971) is an American public servant who served as White House cabinet secretary in the administration of Joe Biden. She previously served as

Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs The assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs is the head of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, a bureau within the United States Department of State. The assistant secretary of state for educational and cu ...

(ECA) in the Obama administration (2013–2017) and was assistant for intergovernmental affairs and public liaison for then-

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

Joe Biden.

Early life and education

Ryan was born in 1971 in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, where she grew up in a middle-class family of Irish Catholic descent. She attended Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC. Her mother is a kindergarten teacher and her father works for the US civil service. She received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) in political science from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

. In May 2006, she received her

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA) in international public policy from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

's School of Advanced International Studies.

Career

Ryan served under Secretary of State

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

and worked in the Obama-Biden White House as Assistant to the Vice President and Special Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement from September 2013 to January 2017. Prior to joining the Obama administration, Ryan served as deputy campaign manager for then-Senator Biden's 2008 presidential campaign and also served on the Kerry 2004 presidential campaign and Hillary Clinton's 2000 senatorial campaign. Ryan served in the Clinton White House, as deputy director of scheduling for First Lady

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

and as special assistant to the first lady's chief of staff. After leaving the White House in January 2017, she helped launch and lead Axios, and served as its executive vice president. She has worked as a consultant for the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict and served as deputy chair for the governance track of the Clinton Global Initiative. She is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She was a senior advisor for the Biden-Harris transition team. In January 2021, she was appointed White House cabinet secretary.

Personal life

Evan Ryan and Antony Blinken met in 1995 while working as White House staff members. They married in 2002 in an interfaith ceremony officiated by a rabbi and a priest at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. They have two children, a son John Rowley Blinken born in March 2019 and a daughter Lila Ryan Blinken born on February 26, 2020. The children were born via two different gestational surrogates. At the end of his term, Biden named Ryan to the Board of Trustees of the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

References

External links

Profile
at WhiteHouse.gov
Wedding announcement
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', March 3, 2002 * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Evan 1971 births 21st-century American diplomats 21st-century American women civil servants American people of Irish descent American political women American women diplomats Assistant secretaries of state for educational and cultural affairs Biden administration personnel Blinken family Catholics from Virginia Clinton administration personnel Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Living people Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences alumni Obama administration personnel People from Alexandria, Virginia Virginia Democrats