Brigadier General Kevin Ryan (U.S. Army retired) is an Associate Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He was previously Executive Director for Research at the Belfer Center from 2010 to 2013.
Ryan was the founding director of the center's U.S.-Russia Initiative to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism, where he also founded the “Elbe Group" (retired US and Russian flag officers from the military and intelligence fields). Until his retirement from full time work in May 2017, Ryan was founder and Director, Defense and Intelligence Projects at Belfer Center. He is the author of over 20 articles and book chapters on various leadership and security topics.
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 former Soviet states. 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, cyber assets, satellite management 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 Army policy in the domestic interagency and with foreign allies.
Ryan holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy, a Masters degree in Russian Language and Literature from Syracuse University and, a Masters 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.
General Ryan was a highly valued adviser and participant in the Institute’s civil-military program, Alliance Linking Leaders in Education and the Services. He was involved in ALLIES intellectual roundtables, advised on its simulations, lectured and contributed to several Institute forums, EPIIC symposia and professional security workshops.
On the 30th Anniversary of the Institute in 2016, General Ryan had the honor of presenting The Elbe Group “Salute” to the Institute’s Founding Director, Sherman Teichman, for “Thirty Years of Dedication and Leadership in Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship” and for the “courage to reach across dangerous divides.”