Brigadier General Kevin Ryan (U.S. Army retired) is an associate fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
Until his retirement from full-time work in May 2017, Ryan was founder and director of the Belfer Center's defense and intelligence projects. A career military officer, he served in air and missile defense, intelligence, and political-military policy areas. From 1995 to 1996, he was head of the Moscow office of the POW/MIA Commission, searching for missing Americans in the states that emerged from the former Soviet Union. From 1998 to 2000, he served as senior regional director for Slavic states in the Office of Secretary of Defense and, from 2001 to 2003, as defense attaché to Russia. He also served as chief of staff for the Army's Space and Missile Defense Command, an organization with diverse missions that include deployment of missile defenses and cyber assets, satellite managementd and research in areas like directed energy. He has commanded at every level from platoon to brigade and served in Europe, Korea, and Iraq. In his last duty assignment he was responsible for army strategic war plans, policy, and international affairs and coordinated U.S. Army policy in the domestic interagency area and with foreign allies.
Ryan holds a bachelor of science degree from the U.S. Military Academy, a master's degree in Russian language and literature from Syracuse University, and a master's degree in national security strategy from the National War College. Ryan has been a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Press, Politics, and Public Policy and was vice president for business development at iRobot Corporation. He is a member of the board of the American Councils for International Education (ACTR/ACCELS) and a member of the Belfer Center Board of Directors. Ryan was the founding director of the center's U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism, where he also founded the Elbe Group of retired U.S. and Russian flag officers from the military and intelligence fields. He was executive director for research at the Belfer Center in 2010-2013. He is the author of over 20 articles and book chapters on various leadership and security topics.
Last updated November 2023.
