Frederick J. Ryan, Jr. is chairman of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute and is leading the launch of the new Center on Civility and Democracy. 

He served as publisher and CEO of The Washington Post from 2014-2023. During his leadership, it was recognized for excellence in journalism with 13 Pulitzer Prizes and twice named by Fast Company Magazine as the “World’s Most Innovative Media Company.”

Ryan was founding CEO of Politico from 2007-2014, with the publication receiving multiple awards, including its first Pulitzer Prize, under his leadership.

From 1995-2014, he was also president and chief operating officer of Allbritton Communications, an award-winning group of ABC-affiliated broadcast and cable television stations.

Ryan was chairman of the White House Historical Association for 10 years and now serves as chairman of the White House Endowment and Acquisition Trust. He is also a member of the board of trustees of several other nonprofit organizations including the University of Southern California, the National Geographic Society, Ford’s Theatre Society and is a member of the Smithsonian Institution’s Strategy, Innovation, and Technology Committee.

Ryan served at a senior level in the White House from 1982 to 1989 and later became chief of staff to former President Ronald Reagan. He was instrumental in the design, construction, and funding of the Reagan Presidential Library.

Prior to his government service, Ryan was an attorney at the Los Angeles law firm of Hill, Farrer & Burrill. He graduated magna cum laude from USC with a bachelor’s degree in political science and speech communication in 1977 and received a J.D. from the USC Gould School of Law in 1980.

He is author of Wine and the White House: A History, published by the White House Historical Association. He was also the editor of Ronald Reagan: The Wisdom and Humor of The Great Communicator, published by Harper Collins in 1995, and Ronald Reagan: The Great Communicator, published by Harper Collins in 2001.