Olivia Zayas Ryan (they/she) is an assistant deputy public defender in the Essex County adult trial region of the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender. They graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 2024, where she served as the vice president of the Latin American Law Students Association and social chair of the Brooklyn Law and Political Economy Collective, as well as a member of the Phi Delta Phi Honors Society and the National Lawyers Guild. They also competed in the 2022 Hispanic National Bar Association Moot Court Competition. Before law school, Olivia served as an associate on the communications and public affairs team at Global Strategy Group, where they supported client projects through media relations, social media management, and strategic consulting. Prior to joining GSG, Olivia completed the Fellowship in Public Affairs with Coro New York Leadership Center. In addition to these professional experiences, Olivia is a freelance writer whose writing has been published in Glamour, The Cut, Refinery29 Somos, Autostraddle, and more.
