Soon after becoming president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, John Ryan led a campaign to fight child sex trafficking in the United States, raising awareness with Congress and a multitude of organizations. As the sale of children for sex shifted from the streets to the internet – through online classified sites like Backpage.com – Ryan led a crusade to help stop the sexual assault of children.
In 2013, after the Penn State Jerry Sandusky scandal, Ryan spearheaded Safe to Compete: Protecting Child Athletes from Sexual Abuse. A Summit, co-hosted by the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, brought together youth-sports organizations and issue experts to discuss child sexual abuse prevention in sports.
Ryan is also the Former COO and General Counsel at Global Cyber Alliance (2016-2017) and Former SVP Deputy General Counsel and Chief Cybersecurity and Compliance at AOL Inc. (1996-2012) where he led the Public Safety & Criminal Investigations Unit and served as a liaison with law enforcement, coordinating investigations and prosecutions of criminal activities, including internet crimes committed against children.