Dr. Christine A. Ryan is Director of the Reproductive Justice Project and the Prevention of Crimes Against Humanity Project at the Human Rights Institute, where she leads legal and policy strategies to advance gender justice and accountability for serious rights violations.

Before joining Columbia, Christine served as Legal Director at the Global Justice Center, and as Senior Legal Advisor and Director of Programs to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. In that role, she developed mandate strategy and authored major reports on human rights protections globally. She also previously led the Impact Iran coalition, advised the UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, and worked with government officials on integrating human rights frameworks into foreign assistance.

Christine began her career as a Human Rights Advisor to the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade. She holds a doctorate in human rights law from Duke University School of Law, where she was a Fulbright Scholar; an LLM from University College London; and a Bachelor of Laws and Irish from University College Cork. She is a Senior Fellow for Religion and Reproductive Rights at Union Theological Seminary and a consultant expert with the University of Essex Religion and Equality Project.