Chief Executive Officer
Ryan Pavel
Ryan Pavel serves as Warrior-Scholar Project’s chief executive officer, channeling a deeply-held conviction that enlisted veterans have unlimited potential to leverage military service into enormous impact in higher education and beyond.
At the age of 17, Ryan enlisted in the Marine Corps, culminating in two non-combat deployments to Iraq. Ryan then earned his B.A. from the University of Michigan and J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, leading Student Veterans of America chapters at both institutions. His teaching experience includes working as a Teach For America corps member at an inner-city Detroit high school and as an adjunct instructor at Virginia Military Institute. Ryan has also worked for a variety of legal institutions, including legal aid organizations and a large national law firm, and has provided pro bono legal services to veterans.
In addition to his ongoing work at WSP, Ryan serves as the vice president of partnerships of the Veterans Leadership Council, a working group leader of the Bush Institute’s Veteran Higher Education Task Force, and a council member of the Teach for America Military Veteran Council.
Ryan loves spending time with his beautiful wife and energetic sons. As a family, they enjoy escaping to the outdoors to conquer swing sets or climb mountains.